Synchrony
by manystuff
Summary: Clark Kent goes back in time to save Lana Lang. Originally, Jonathan Kent dies in her place, but in this adaption, Lois is the one who dies. Or does she?
1. chapter 1

**_Chapter 1: Guilt_**

••••

 ** _Metropolis, December 2009_**

 ** _Graveyard_**

Clark breathes in deeply, getting ready for the fourth time in his life he'll be in that cemetery. He sits down next to her grave, he doesn't mind the dirt or the snow. It's been four years, but it feels like forever.

Fours years ago he made the ultimate decision and turned back time to save Lana Lang. He had begged Jor-El for a second chance, so he could live the day all over again and save Lana. Jor-El had warned him about how the universe would find a way to balance things out, but he was too confident on his abilities to even consider the possibility that someone else he cared would actually die. Well, it happened. He hadn't been able to save her, and the thing that hurt the most was that she wouldn't have needed saving if he didn't selfishly choose to mess with time. Mess with how the universe worked.

He touched her grave, sliding his index finger on the surface of the letters of her name.

 _Lois Joanne Lane._ _Beloved daughter._ _1985-2005_

Through the four times he'd been on this cemetery, he had always been bothered by that line between the years she lived. She was so much more than a line, so much more than just a lost grave in a Metropolis graveyard. He often thought about that line, about her life. Everyday actually. And in all days, he thought about how he took it from her.

"You're here early." He heard a feminine voice behind him and didn't bother to stand up from where he was sat, he knew she would sit down on the other side of the grave. She'd done it three times already and breaking tradition wasn't really something Chloe would do.

"You always say thay." Clark answered. She did always say that because he always was earlier than usual, he would leave before his parents woke up and would be back by lunch. If Chloe didn't know his secret, she would wonder how in the world Clark spent more than seven hours on a cemetery with no food, on the December cold and sat on the snowed grass. But she did know his secret. She also knew that Lois was buried because of him. He'd told her what he'd done with Lois.

This day, the anniversary of Lois' death, was the only day of the year Chloe Sullivan actually talked to him since the day he'd told her. Chloe ignored him for 364 days of the year, every year, and when she didn't denied his existence completely, she'd talk to him only to offend him or remark something about how they could've been great friends still if he hadn't killed the most important person in her life.

He was lucky she still spoke to him nicely at least a day of the year. God knows how he didn't deserve it.

As expected, she sat on the other side of the grave.

"Lois came to Smallville to investigate my supposed death. It turned out I wasn't the cousin who died." Chloe said while drawing random patterns with her fingers on the cold snow. Clark glanced at her for a second and debated if he should say he was sorry, but he figured there was no point. She knew how sorry he was, she just wasn't going to forgive him.

"Although I wasn't myself that day, I remember it with perfect detail. She kept talking that my mom was the only thing she liked about me. She said I couldn't be as weird as she thought I was with a mom that cool." He smiled weakly and heard Chloe chuckle softly.

"That sounds like her." Chloe said breathly. He noticed she was trying to hold back a few tears. "I don't know how I've survived four years without her. I knew I loved her more than anything, she and my dad were pretty much my only family. But even though I knew it would be horrible to lose her, I couldn't have imagined how much it would actually hurt." Chloe explained, one lonely tear traveling down her face. "Cousin doesn't seem enough for the role she played in my life. She was my sister, Clark." Chloe looked him in the eye for the first time. Probably the first time in the whole year.

"I know." He muttered, his voice a little husky and almost not coming out. "She thought the same about you. Even though she loved Lucy, you were much more of a sister to her than Lucy ever was." He said and Chloe nodded, drying her tears with the back of her hand.

"What do you think she would be doing now if she was here?" Chloe asked him, a slight smile on her face.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it would be something important. Changing the world, perhaps." Clark laughed softly. He was sure Lois Lane would change the world for the better.

If he had let her live enough to do it.

"I'm so sure she would work in the Planet. She was born for journalism, she just didn't know it yet." Chloe added and, after a moment of silence, she clapped her hands, getting rid of the snow between her fingers. She stood up and looked down at her cousin's grave. "I'll see you next year, 'cuz." Chloe said and was about to leave when Clark stopped her, getting up faster than humanly possible.

"Chloe..." He started, not being able to look his former friend in the eye or face her reaction to what he was about to ask. "Do you...do you think she'd have forgiven me?" He sounded ridiculosly broken, clinging for dear life on the wait of her answer.

Chloe seemed deep in thought for a while.

"I don't know, Clark." She answered honestly. "See you next year." And then she left.

He was alone again with his thoughts.


	2. Avery

**_Chapter 2: Avery_**

 ** _••••_**

 ** _Smallville, January 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"Clark! Come down here." Clark heard his mother calling for him from downstairs.

"What is it, Mom?" He asked as he jogged down the stairs. He stopped dead on his tracks when he saw a little girl, she couldn't be more than seven years old ish and she had the most beautiful hazel eyes he'd seen. It actually made him a little dizzy how familiar she looked.

"Hi, Clark." She smiled at him, an adorable, charming smile. He was almost smiling back at the infectious little girl when he realized that she had said something.

"Excuse me?" He asked, he was so distracted that he didn't even hear the girl.

"I said 'hi, Clark', weren't you supposed to have super hearing or something?" She asked like it was the most normal thing in the world and took the glass of milk that his mother was offering her. "Thanks, Mrs. K." She said with another of those charming smiles and he could see his Mom pretty much phisically melt at the little girl.

"Bu-but how do you know me? How do you know about, uh, the super hearing?" He sounded ridiculous, but at least he got the words out.

"I'm from the future." The little girl said after drinking the whole glass. She must've been really thirsty. "I'm from 2018, and when I was five, last year, my parents talked to me about this." She started explaining. "They said that if this kind of thing ever happened, that I should come to you and you only."

"Wha-What kind of thing?" Clark asked completely confused.

"Time travel, Clark." She said, again like it was the most average thing in the world. "By the way, since you don't know me..." She walked towards him and offered her left hand for him to shake. "I'm Avery."

"And where are your parents, Avery? Do they know you're...in the past?" Clark heard his mother asking and he looked at the little girl expecting an answer.

"I can't exactly tell you much about my parents, this whole time travel thingy is kind of dangerous. My dad hates it and he wished he could prevent me from time traveling, but obviously he wasn't able to or else I wouldn't be here."

"Why does your dad hate it?" Clark asked curiously.

"I can't tell you that." Avery smiled sweetly at him. A little too sweetly.

"What can you tell us?" Clark asked a little frustrated. "How do your parents know me? How do you know about the super hearing?"

"Geez, if you ask any more questions I'll go dizzy." She said rolling her eyes. "My parents know you pretty well, they know everything about you and you know everything about them. You're like best friends. Especially with my Mom." The little girl smiled to herself like she was laughing at her own joke, but he wasn't really seeing any joke.

"Ok, Avery, you need to go back home. To the future or wherever you are from. I mean, how can you be sure you're in the past?" Clark asked, ignoring how cute the girl was and trying to sound at least a little demanding so he could understand what the hell was going on there.

"Jor-El sent me here." She said and Clark's eyes automatically widened along with his mother's. "You'll still remember my visit in the future, that's why my parents talked to me about time travel, because you warned them that I would be here."

"And I asked you to look for me when you came to the past?" Clark asked.

"Yep." She answered, dragging the 'p'. "So, do I have to go home right now before I have some fun around here?" She smiled up at him.

"Well, I'm not even sure how to send you back to the future." Clark said a little scared at the new responsabilty that was thrown on his plate.

"I have an idea where we should start from." Avery said after climbing over to the bench close to the kitchen stand. "First thing that my people in the future said that we should do is find Lois." As soon as Avery said it, time stopped.

Clark would have heard his mother's breath catch in her throat if he wasn't too busy with thoughts, memories and that sense of familiarity he felt when he looked at Avery for the first time. He figured out who Avery reminded him of. It was Lois.

She was just like Lois.


	3. Sure

**_Chapter 3: Sure_**

 ** _Smallville, January 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"What did you just say?" Clark asked, his voice cutting through the silent room like a knife.

"Lois." Avery repeated. "Lois Lane."

"This is not funny." Clark looked right into Avery's eyes, trying to make sure she was being serious.

"I know it's not funny. I didn't tell any jokes." Avery rolled her eyes. "We need to find Lois. She will help us. And we also need Aunt Chloe."

"Avery, we don't understand what's happening." His mother tried explaining. "We can't speak to Lois, honey." She said glancing briefly at Clark.

"Look, I know what's going on here." Avery told them and got confused faces as a response. The little girl rolled her pretty eyes. "Like I said, Clark's friend of my family, we're pretty close. And when he was telling us about all this time travel stuff, he mentioned that I might end up in a time where you all think Lois is dead."

"Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" His mother asked, but Clark barely heard, he felt a little dizzy.

"If you think that I'm saying that Lois Lane's alive, then yes, I'm saying what you're thinking I'm saying." Avery smiled. "Lois is also a close friend of the family"

Now, Clark felt a lot dizzy. He almost couldn't control his body, especially his legs that seemed like had life of their own and made him sit on the bottom the stairs, clinging for life to the stair railing.

"I-I don't believe you." Clark breathed out, but Avery looked like she had heard. She climbed down the bench she was sat before and walked towards him, smiling softly.

"It's okay." She said, the sweetest voice coming out of her mouth, which he's learned through the few minutes he's had with her that it was really rare to have her talk to you like that. "She's alive." Avery put her little hand on his cheek. "And I know how to find her."

"I can't believe you, Avery." He dragged the words out of his mouth, he had all these powers and could barely talk when it came to Lois Lane. "I can't believe you until-"

"You have to see her." Avery looked like a grown up all of sudden. Maybe it was because he was sat and she was up, or maybe it was because his heart felt so small. "I know. Don't worry, you'll see her soon." How did she know him like that?

"Where is she?" He and Avery looked behind them, suddenly remembering that his mother was there. "Are you really sure she's alive, Avery?" His mother looked almost as desperate as him to find something that she could believe in.

"Yes, I'm sure." The girl said and added: "You have to bring Chloe here, Clark."


	4. Hope

**_Chapter 4: Hope_**

 ** _Smallville, 2005_**

 ** _Luthor Mansion_**

"Mr. Luthor, the package you've been waiting for has arrived."

"Bring it in." Lex Luthor says and drinks what's left of his expensive whiskey in his glass.

When the metal box arrived, he asked for it to be put in his desk and for the doors to be locked after his employees left. They did as they were told, leaving Lex alone in his office.

He opened the metal box and carefully picked up the content. It was truly beautiful and he couldn't wait to see what Mr. Future was dying to whisper in his ear.

With that thought, he put on the golden helmet.

 ** _Smallville, 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"What do you mean she's alive?" Chloe asked to no one specifically, but to all of them at the same time. "If this is some kind of sick joke, I swear-"

"It's not a joke, Chloe. I promise." Avery interrupted her. "And yes, I'm really from the future, Jonathan" Avery tried convincing Clark's dad with one of her charming, adorable smiles, Clark noted.

"How can we be sure she's actually alive? I don't...I don't want to get my hopes up only for them to be crushed. I can't take something like that happening." Chloe explained, looking at all of them again, speaking volumes with her eyes.

"I know, Chloe. But I guess we have to give Avery a chance to prove her point, even if get us nowhere, at least we tried." His mother smiled weakly and he knew she was right, but the thought of going through that again? Having her, at least in thoughts, in hopes, and then losing her because some girl tricked him. Like Chloe said, he wouldn't be able to go through something like that.

But he had to try. He owned it to Lois, to Chloe and to everyone that he took Lois away from when he traveled through time with a selfish mind.

"Ok, then. Avery, tell us what you've got." Chloe said in a determined voice that reminded him way too much of Lois.

"Alrighty, here's the deal..."Avery started and Clark, again, realized how Avery's cheerful smile also reminded him of Lois. What was happening to him? It was like he was seeing her everywhere, hauting him in every little quirk she had, that she shared with someone else in the world. But nothing compares to the real thing, and now a six year old girl was giving them hope that he could maybe set everyone's lives right. "Clark's version from the future, from where I'm from, warned me that you might not believe me at first sight, which honestly I thought it was something really stupid considering my charming nature..." Avery smirked, making everyone around her smile. There was just something about this girl... "Anyways, he said you guys were a bit on the suspicious side, so the thing is, it all apparently started with Lex Luthor, as always..." Avery rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"Lex? What does he have to do with Lois? Or the future?" Clark asked confused, reflecting everyone else's mood.

"Lexie is always involved when there are dirty things going on." Avery paused and breathed in deeply. "The night Lois died, she actually did die." Clark felt his heart dropping..."But she was ressurected." ...And then he could breathe again. "By Lex Luthor."

"What? Why? What could Lex possibly want with my cousin?" Chloe asked as soon as Avery said her words.

"That's what I asked the future Clark. He said Lois was the key to whatever Lex was planning. Future Clark said this was the biggest, greatest most annoyingly evil plan Lex Luthor had ever thought of." Avery said with wide eyes.

"I said that?" Clark asked confused for a second. That didn't sound quite like something he would say.

"Well, not in those exact words, but you get the drill." Avery winked at him. "Anyways, future Clark didn't tell me about the evil plan, he just said that Lex had evil reasons to bring Lois back."

"Typical." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"That's what I said." Avery rolled her eyes like Chloe and Clark watched both of them with interest.

"And how can we find Lois, supposing that all of this you're saying is true?" His dad asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, future Clark told me that when Lex ressurected Lois, he put a tracker under her skin so he could watch her every move. The thing is..." Avery started. "He sold the tracker watcher to some other guy who bought it for like millions. Future Clark said that Lex only put that tracker on as a bonus, but he didn't actually needed it, so he happily sold to the guy that gave him millions in exchange." Avery explained.

"So, technically, if we find the guy who bought the tracker from Lex, we find Lois." Clark said, putting two and two together.

"Well, yeah, technically...but you see, there's a problem" Avery grimaced making them sigh. "Future Lois...she told me that she found the tracker around August, 2009."

"Wait, future Lois told you that?" Chloe asked, hope shining in her eyes as it was on his own, Clark guessed. "Did you actually see her in the future?"

"Well, duh." Avery rolled her eyes. "Obviously I've seen her, I told you she's...a friend of the family." She explained.

"How did she look like then?" His dad asked, apparently he didn't trust the girl yet and was trying to catch her in some kind of lie.

"You know how she looks like." Avery didn't even look at his dad to answer that, she actually looked him deep in the eye. He wondered what it meant. "Taller than Chloe, shorter than Clark, hazel eyes, brunnette, bossy, sassy, kind of rude but won't admit it and extremely sarcastic." As soon as she finished, Chloe chuckled and Clark was sure he had a huge grin on his face. He tried controlling himself and getting back to business, but that girl was getting more and more convincing at every passing minute.

"What did you mean when you said Lois found the tracker in August, 2009?" His mother asked the girl, breaking the little moment they all shared.

"Well, according to future Lois, she saw a little part of her skin glowing red and knew it was something like a tracker. She just wasn't sure how it got there."

"And what did she do? Did she try disconnect it with a computer?" Chloe asked, clearly worried as if it was happening right now.

"Well, not exactly." Avery grimaced once again. "Future Lois said that she couldn't use any kind of electronic device because they could track it down to her. She also couldn't do any kind of procedure in any hospitals because she couldn't stay at the same place for too much time and couldn't trust anyone." Avery gulped. "Using her words, when I asked Lois herself what she had done, she said: 'Ripped it out of me, Ave'"

Everybody looked horrified with the new knowlodge, but continued with the questions.

"Why couldn't she trust anyone? Why was she running from everyone for all these years?" Clark asked, why in the world would she need to run away?

"Well, they didn't tell me that much because they said there were dirty details that I didn't want to know, but obviously I do want to know."Avery rolled her eyes. Again.

"And can you tell us how we can find her?" Chloe asked Avery.

Avery nodded and took a piece of paper from her pocket. "They gave me this date and this place, I guess it's where they found Lois when they were you, but I can't be sure." Clark took the handwritten paper gently out of Avery's hand.

 _January 17th, 2010_

1 _9th Police Department, New York City_

"It's tomorrow. In New York." Clark announced to the others. "Do you think she'll be there?" Clark asked to no one in particular while he looked at the paper with huge interest until he figured something out. "It's Lois' handwriting!" He said, showing it to Chloe who smiled in agreement.

Things were finally setting themselves right. Thanks to Avery.


	5. 2005

**_Chapter 5: 2005_**

 ** _Smallville, January 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"That's pretty much all I know, guys." Avery told them.

"If everything you say is true, you have no idea how thankful we all are." Clark heard his mother saying and watched as she squeezed Avery's hand. Clark couldn't agree more, and he knew he was completely lost in hopes already, if all of this was a lie and Lois wasn't actually alive, he knew that it'd be like wacthing her die all over again.

 ** _Smallville, December 2005_**

 ** _The Talon_**

His father had just won the elections for Senator and he couldn't be more proud. Those elections had been quite a journey and he was very inspired with how his Dad managed to keep it all together. Of course, he had help from his Mom and his favorite Chief of Staff.

Clark smiled to the pictures and called Lois out to give the camera to someone else and get into the picture with them. Probably for the first time in their life, she did as he told her to and he had to smile even wider at the thought that he was totally hold it against her on one of their verbal matches.

Although he was really happy and satisfied with the whole thing, he knew he had to focus an ear on everyone he cared about to make sure he'd be there to save them all if something happened to them, as Jor-El warned him. He had always helped everyone he cared about when they needed, it wouldn't be different now. Jor-El mentioned the universe was going to balance things out, but Clark had another interpretation: the universe became balanced again when he time traveled to save Lana Lang.

Everyone he cared about was there, that's what matters, right? He'd be able to save all of them if they needed, he had to.

"Listen up, guys." His father started speaking with a big smile on his face."Thank you so much for your support, I promise that I will do everything in my power to make our home a better place as long as I have you all by my side" The crowd cheered and he asked them to listen for a bit more, now signaling to somewhere behind him, where Clark, his mother and Lois were. "And I'd like to thank my family for all the support I've got during these past few months, I wouldn't be half of the man I am without these three here." He finished.

Clark had to smile when he saw the look on Lois face when his father mentioned three people. She really had no idea how important she was to all of them, and he wasn't about to tell her or she would hold it agaisnt him forever, he chuckled.

"Talking to yourself, Smallville?" Lois came up behind him and he turned to her, smiling.

"No, you're the only one who does that, Lois." He said and she smiled at him.

"Well, like I've said before, you don't really hold up your side of the conversation so when I talk to myself, it's obviously because of you."

"Of course it is." He said sarcastically. "That's why you talk to yourself even when I'm not there."

"And how do you know that I'm actually talking to myself if you aren't there to see it?" She smirked, looking up at him. He smiled back at her. "Anyways, I have to go to the farm to grab a couple more supplies for the rest of the party. Be back soon." She winked at him and started walking towards the exit.

"Wait, Lois?" He called out for her and she looked behind her. "Do you want me to go there? You could stay here, just tell me what I've got to bring." He figured he'd be a lot faster.

"No worries, Clarkie, I'll be back in a sec. It's just a couple of boxes, you stay here with your Dad." She smiled at him and left. It was actually a good idea to stay with his Dad, the Senator.

A couple of minutes later, Clark's phone started buzzing and he smiled at the name on the screen.

"Missing me already, Lois?"

 _"You wish, Smallville. I'm just calling so you tell me where the hell did you hide that brown box that I put behind the couch before we left the farm."_

"I could tell you but it would be a lot more fun if I let you look for it." He was sure he could hear a smile in her voice.

 _"Well, then I guess I should call your Mom and tell her that her baby is being a bad boy."_

"Could you be more childish than you already are?" He asked rolling his eyes as if she would see it. "It's in my bedroom." He answered, there was no point in trying to hide something from her anyways.

 _"My hero."_ He heard her breathe out like she was seeing the most beautiful thing in the world and had to roll his eyes--again.

They hung up and Clark watched his Dad whispering in his Mom's ear as she grinned happily. Everytime he looked at his parents like this, he wondered if he would ever have that. He clearly threw his chance with Lana away when he didn't tell her his secret, for her protection. He couldn't let her die, even if it meant losing her.

Maybe one day though...maybe he'd find someone else?

 _"STOP!"_ He heard someone screaming a couple of miles away and figured they needed help. He ran towards the sound as fast as he could, it was close to the farm. He ran even faster, pushing himself.

Even running as fast as he possibly could, almost feeling his legs give out from the physical effort, he didn't get there in time. He watched as the big, blue truck ran over the red light and crashed on the much smaller car that became immediately unrecognizable.

He muttered a curse. He had run as fast as he could! It wasn't fair!

With that in mind, he rushed to the car driver to see how bad things were. He would have to rush the driver to the hospital for sure, he thought as he saw how the car was destroyed.

"Hey, are yo-" Clark's words died in his throat as he saw who the driver actually was. "Oh, God..." He muttered before ripping the door and the seatbelt that was supposed to protect her. He grabbed her as carefully as possible, putting her body on the cold, hard road and sat right after, placing her head on his lap.

"L-Lois?" He didn't even know how he managed to say her name, he barely could see anything with his blurry vision.

He called her name again, but she didn't answer.

"Please, don't do this to me." He begged her, husky voiced and teary eyed. Lois didn't even flinch, she was still there, with her eyes closed and bleeding in his arms.

"Does she need hospital care?" The truck driver, the one who crashed her car, asked. Clark didn't even glanced at him.

This was all Clark's fault. He'd killed Lois, he was a killer. He made the wrong choice and he wished he could undo it, he wished it with all his heart.

He felt like screaming. He felt like dying.

"I'm so sorry." That's what he wanted to say, but what came out of his mouth was a bunch of messed up words that didn't even make sense. There weren't tears streaming down his face because he hadn't blinked them down yet, but he felt a sob coming out of him anyway.

He would do anything to bring her back. Yes, bring her back, because she was already dead. Probably died seconds after the collision.

He brushed the hair on her face out of the way from her closed eyes with his shaky hands.

"Please." He sobbed out. "Please forgive me."

 ** _Smallville, January 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"Clark? Are you okay?" Clark heard his mother asking and turned to look at her. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" She asked worried, coming over to his side.

"Yeah, yeah." Clark said, still a little lost. "I was just...thinking." Remembering, to be more exact, Clark thought.

"Whatever happens, it's going to be okay at the end, honey." Mom tried reassuring him, but he just smiled weakly at her attempt.

"It's only going to be okay if she's alive."


	6. Home

**_Chapter 6: Home_**

 ** _New York City, January 2010_**

 ** _19th Police Department_**

This is it. This is the day he would know more about what really happened to Lois if everything Avery said was actually true. Nobody knew how much Clark wanted her back, and he also never told anybody about the dreams he used to have. Dreams where she would just be there, waiting for him in the kitchen of the farm, like nothing had ever happened and teasing him about his plaid.

Nobody knew, but that's okay. He didn't deserve anybody to share his pain. Honestly, he didn't even feel like he deserved to miss her.

"Clark?" Chloe called him out. They were waiting on the police station's reception, even though they didn't really know what they were waiting for. "You okay?" The blonde asked him and he smiled in response. At least Chloe was talking to him now and not just ignoring him like she used to.

"I don't really know what we're waiting for. Maybe we should have brought Avery." Clark mentioned. He really had no idea if someone was coming to them or if they had to go talk to someone. Maybe they should just wait.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of waiting here. We're both too nervous to wait anymore. I'm gonna talk to someone." Chloe got up from where she was sat and walked towards a young looking officer.

"Wait, I'm coming with you!" Clark said and got up quicky, following her.

"What can I help you with, miss?" The officer asked Chloe.

"We're looking for..." Chloe started but couldn't finish. What exactly they were looking for? "Uncle Sam?"

Wait, they were looking for Uncle Sam? Who's Uncle Sam? Clark was suddenly very confused. Then he noticed Chloe looking towards a different direction. He realized she was looking at a man dressed in a army uniform. Lois' father. Of course...Uncle Sam.

Chloe walked quickly towards the General that just stood there, waiting for his niece and looking quite troubled.

"What are you doing here, Chloe?" The General asked when Chloe got close enough.

"I've been investigating a couple of things related to Lois. It turns out that this place has something to do with her." Chloe tried. She couldn't exactly tell the General that a girl from the future told them to be there. Clark, who had followed Chloe, silently agreed with here on her idea of hiding anything Avery-related.

"That's impossible." Sam Lane said matter-of-factly. "This had nothing to do with Lois until a couple of hours ago. I came as fast as I could. It's impossible for you and Mr. Kent to be here already." He finished. Chloe didn't know exactly what to say and glanced at Clark for help, but before they could say anything, the General kept talking. "Look, I talk to you two later, I have to do what I came here to do. But stick around for a couple more hours, we might have news." He affirmed and walked out with an army collegue.

Clark glanced at Chloe who seemed even more determined to know what was going on.

"What do you think he came here for?" He asked his blonde friend.

"I'm not sure. But he mentioned that he might have news. I think..." Chloe bit her lower lip in concentration and worry, much like Lois used to do. "...I think there's a strong chance that she's really alive, Clark."

Clark breathed in. Chloe is right, it'd be too much coincidence Avery saying all those things and the General showing up exactly where the note said they should be. He had to be realistic and put himself out there, he had to admit that Lois might be alive. He really, really hoped they were right.

 ** _2 HOURS LATER_**

Clark and Chloe decided to go somewhere to eat outside the police department, the wait was drivng them both insane and they nedded a break from all that. They walked to the closest coffee house and ate a couple of sandwiches.

"I'm scared, Clark." Chloe admitted, breaking the silence they had between them since they left the police station. Clark faced her with soft eyes and smiled softly.

"Me too." He said, hoping that it would make her feel better if she knew they were both going through some kind of ordeal. "I was afraid to belive in everything Avery said, because I knew that if it was all a lie, it would hurt too much. But now, with everything that's been happening, I think you were right back there in the police station. There really is a great chance she's alive."

"I know, but still...What if she isn't? What am I supposed to do?" She asked him in a soft whisper that he wouldn't have heard if he didn't have super-hearing.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "But I think yo—" Before he could finish he heard something. He focused his super-hearing on the patterned sound and frowned. He knew that sound, but couldn't quite put his finger on where from. His eyebrows rose a little when he realized what the sound actually was: heartbeats.

Why would his hearing randomly focus on a heartbe—

His eyes widened and his eyebrows rose even more than before as he recognized the sound. The sandwich he was holding was crushed by his hands after a moment when he lost his self control. Before thinking about anything else and letting himself being engulfed by the hammering in his ears, Clark ran.

He followed the sound relentlessly and, at the pace he was running, it didn't take long for him to find the source of the sound.

She had her back to him and was admiring the view of some kind of lake. He could see her arms were crossed and her hair — her darker hair, he noticed — was flying at the slow wind's pace. He just stood there for a moment, trying to control his breathing and trying to control his hearing, still overwhelmed by the sound of her heart.

As if sensing his presence behind her, she turned around slowly and he could finally see her face in real life, not just a dream, for the first time in four years. He drew a shaky breath and felt that his hand was shaking, his legs threatened to give out when she realized who she was looking at and grinned. He wondered how he, probably the strongest man in the world, could be so affected by this, by her.

He took three long steps that with his long legs and reached for her in a second. He pulled her to him and she gladly accepted the embrace. He closed his eyes when he smelled her hair and he was sure that her feet weren't touching the floor anymore because of how he was holding her. As if she just had realized the same thing, she wrapped her legs around his waist so she could deepen the embrace.

He felt like holding her for more four years so she could take his pain away. She was already doing a wonderful job at that, though.

"God, I missed you." He mumbled, still holding her as tight as he knew her body could take, breathing her in.

"Really? I didn't even remembered you until I saw you." She said in his ear and he smiled widely at the familiarity of her teasing. He missed her _so_ much.

"That's what I meant, just thought you'd feel better if I said I missed you a little." He teased her right back and felt her own smile widen in his neck. After a moment, he felt her legs weaken the grip they had on his waist and reluctantly did the same with his arms that were around her. He put her feet on the ground again but kept her at arms reach, holding the sides of her neck with soft hands. He felt her own hands gripping his forearm.

"Where were you, Lois?" He whispered, there was no need to speak loudly, they were close.

"Everywhere." She whispered back after closing her eyes for a moment.

He decided that they could talk all about it later, they didn't need that right now. Clark suddenly remembered Chloe and felt instantely bad for leaving her at the coffee shop with no explanations. She had the right to see Lois and he felt like he cheated that by seeing her first.

"I need to take you to see Chloe." He said and watched as her eyes sparkled at the mention of her cousin. He smiled.

"She's here?" Lois asked surprised. The surprise turned into confusion. "Why are you two here?" She asked again, remembering that neither he or Chloe were from New York City.

"It's a long story, but we came for you." He answered. "Come on, let's talk to Chloe and then we'll go home." Clark said and then realized that she just came back from 'everywhere' and maybe she needed to do something else. " _Are_ you coming home?"

She smiled at him and he saw recognition on her eyes, he was sure then that she knew what 'home' he was talking about.

"Yeah, the cows probably miss me too much." She winked at him. "I want to end their ordeal."

"Of course." He laughed.

As he walked Lois to the coffee shop where he hoped Chloe was still, he remembered how he said to his Mom that things were only going to be okay if Lois was alive.

After four years, things were finally okay.


	7. Scar Tissue

**_New York City, January 2010_**

 ** _Coffee House_**

Clark and Lois walked to the coffee house while Lois talked about how her father almost didn't let her leave the police station because he didn't want her out of his sight. He listened while she rambled about how she understood his worry, but it wasn't like she was going to be locked in an army base for the rest of her life. He smiled occasionally when she sometimes said something that was just so Lois that he had to calm down his heartbeat and make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Before they walked into the coffee house though, Clark stopped her on the sidewalk.

"I think it's better if I bring Chloe here. The coffee house is a bit crowded and she's probably going to jump you, we don't want to make a scene." Clark smiled at her after explaining. She just shrugged her shoulder and mumbled something about not caring what other people would think and Clark's smile widened. "Don't move." He said before entering the café.

He hoped Chloe was still there. Granted, he's only been away for around 15 minutes, but still, maybe she had gone back to the police department. He got he's answer when he saw her eyes narrow at him and her feet starting to carry herself towards him. He only smiled at her. Nothing could shake his mood.

"Where have you been? You just ran off on me!" She said in a loud whisper when she was close enough.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's ju--"

"No, Clark! This has been really hard on me, and I know that it's been hard on you too, I don't understand why you would just run away out of nowhere..."

"Chloe, let me finish." He smiled down at her and held her shoulders to grab her attention. She looked at him curiously. "I heard her heartbeat."

He watched for a reaction. First she frowned like she had no idea what he was talking about, then she tilted her head a bit, still frowning. There it is...he thought as her eyes widened comically and her frown disappered. He smiled again.

"Hey, I was turning into a popsicle out there in the cold and you guys were taking too long." Both Clark and Chloe turned to the woman who just spoke. Clark smiled for what it seemed like the thousandth time in 20 minutes and looked down at Chloe to find her jaw on the floor. Oh if only he had a camera right now..."I swear, 'cuz, your face is priceless right now." Lois teased as if reading his thoughts. She grinned widely at Chloe, much like she did at him a few minutes ago.

He should've known Lois wouldn't listen to him and stayed outside. He didn't really care though, he knew she was probably just as anxious to see Chloe.

Chloe seemed frozen for a second but when she realized what was happening she didn't miss a beat. She ran to the coffee entry, where Lois was, and hugged her cousin as tightly as her petite body allowed. He smiled at the scene and turned around to the barista.

"I'd like three coffees to go, please."

 ** _A few hours later_**

 ** _New York City, January 2010_**

 ** _Airport_**

"Well, I guess I see you guys soon." He heard Lois saying. Later that same day, Clark and Chloe decided to go home. Lois drove them to the airport and got them last minute tickets to Metropolis.

"Promise me you'll be at the Kent Farm tomorrow." Chloe asked her cousin, who smiled down at her.

"I wouldn't miss a home cooked meal, Chlo." She answered and hugged her. "So, yeah, I'll be there for dinner. And, if Clark here kindly offers his bed again, I might just stick there for a while." She batted her eyelashes at him teasingly, trying to convince him. Chloe looked at him pulling the puppy dog eyes that he had pulled many times with her. He chuckled...if he told his 18 year old self that one day he would gladly give his whole bedroom to Lois Lane if she asked, he'd flip.

"You can stay as long as you want, Lois." He answered, getting a grin from both girls.

"Then I guess it's settled. I gotta say, it was pretty hard to convince the General to even let me come here to the airport with you, so I might spend the whole night convincing him to let me stay at the Kents for a while." Lois started and seeing the disappointment in Chloe's eyes and probably his too, she quickly added. "But don't worry, I'll be there tomorrow even if I have to break out of some army base." They smiled at that.

He hugged her, following Chloe's example, and enjoyed the feel of her as living proof that this was actually happening. He hasn't forgiven himself for what he's done, he probably never would. Avery herself said that Lois actually did die that day, but was resurrected by Lex Luthor. So, technically, he really did cause her death, and that still made him angry at himself, still made him feel undeserving of even being at the same room as her.

He let her go of his embrace and watched as she walked away from them. A feeling of regret and fear in the pit of his stomach. He regretted doing what he did to her and, like the General, he feared that if he wasn't with her all the time, she would disappear.

"You okay?" He heard Chloe asking him. He smiled weakly at her and nodded his head. But really, he wasn't okay at all.

He thought that Lois being alive would lessen his guilt, but now it got two times worse. Everytime he looked at her, he'd remember that he was the cause of her brief death and if wasn't for Lex Luthor, she'd still be dead.

 ** _The day after_**

 ** _Smallville, January 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"Clark, honey, would you set the table, please?" Clark heard his mother. She was at the kitchen since after lunch, preparing what was probably the best dinner ever. When he arrived at the farm with Chloe, his mother and father were there waiting for answers. One look at his and Chloe's faces and they knew Lois was alive. They all hugged emotionally, he remembered his mother's eyes wet and she was extremely quiet, probably because her voice was dead in her throat. He felt instantly worse because he knew that he hadn't only taken Lois away from her biological family, but from his parents as well.

Avery was there too, she looked smug, of course, like she knew it was going to happen anyway. And she really did know after all. He had hugged her too, he already felt extremely strongly towards the little girl from the future that helped set their lives right.

"Yeah, sure." He answered and super sped to get the table set. Chloe and Avery were watching TV, waiting for dinner and his dad was taking a shower after being done with the chores. He sat down with Chloe and Avery again after doing as his mother asked. He noticed Chloe's leg going rapidly up and down as a nervous gesture and couldn't help but feel the same anxiety. As long as Lois wasn't there they would nervously think that everything they saw the day before was just some kind of delusion.

"Star Trek is like super old, guys." Avery complained.

"What are you talking about, it just got out last year." Chloe said looking at the girl like she was crazy. "Oh yeah, you're from the future." The blonde remembered.

"Yep, also, in 2018, we're getting The Incredibles 2." Avery said cheerfully.

"No way! I thought they wouldn't do the sequel anymore." Chloe looked like she forgot about her nervousness while talking to Avery.

"We do get a sequel and it's pretty cool. Baby Jack has all kinds of super powers." Avery revealed with a smug smile.

"Oh, no. Don't tell us anything." Chloe asked, placing her hands on her ears like a little kid. "I hate spoilers."

"I know." Avery chuckled to herself. Clark looked at her with raised eyebrows. Looks like they were always going to wonder what the girl from the future meant with every remark.

The room grew instantly silent when all of them heard a knock on the door. They all turned their faces to the door hoping something would happen soon at the same time as they hoped to have more time to prepare themselves.

"Someone's answering the door or what?" Avery broke the silence and Clark smiled down at her. He took a deep breath, stood up from the couch and walked towards the door.

As soon as he opened the door and saw hazel eyes with an amused spark he let go of the breath he took moments ago. Relief poured inside him when he realized it wasn't a dream after all.

Guilt also sneaked into his heart when she smiled at him like he was the greatest guy on Earth.

"Gonna let me in sometime tonight, Smallville? I'm kind of hungry." He heard her saying and closed his eyes at the familiar nickname. He grinned at her when he realized she noticed what he was so appreciative about.

"I haven't heard that nickname in quite some time."

She smiled at him, no teasing now, just a bittersweet smile that made his insides ache as he remembered Lois wasn't just missed, but she missed, too. He step back, silently inviting her in. She did as he suggested and walked in slowly, stopping right where the kitchen ended and the living room began. He closed the door and watched as she looked at Chloe, his mother and his father that had just come down the stairs and stopped at the bottom of it. She also glanced at Avery, a little confused, but smiled back at her after the little girl had thrown one of her own famous grins.

After that, Clark remembers his father and mother taking turns in hugging Lois, his mother in particular whispered a few words to her ear that he refused listening on, knowing it was a private moment. They all took their seats by the table and were soon appreciating his Mom's cooking.

"You haven't told me yet why you and Chloe were on New York exactly the day and time I showed up." Lois hinted at him before sipping her glass of wine and breaking the small talk herself had started about how she missed them and how she was glad she was finally seeing some plaid again.

"Avery told us to be there and that it had something related to you. We weren't sure you were alive, but it was enough to make us go to NYC." Chloe explained.

"That's not true, _I was_ sure she was alive, you guys just had a problem believing me." Avery acknowledged earning a look from Lois' confused eyes. Sensing her confusion first, Clark suddenly remembered that Lois had no idea who Avery was from the future. Actually, Lois had no idea who Avery was even though they were having dinner right next to each other for around ten minutes.

"Yeah, it's a long and weird story." He said, leaving things unfinished for a few moments when she looked at him with the most sarcastic expression that he was pretty sure it said: _"duh, we're in Smallville"._ He laughed internally, slightly smirked at her and made sure his face answered her remark _:"yeah, I know, you're right." ._

He knew she had understood what he meant when she raised her eyebrows at him as if challenging to say she was right again, not that he actually said it the first time. He chuckled to himself and decided to tell the 'long and weird story'.

"You see, Avery's from the future." Clark stated matter-of-factly watching as disbelief crossed through Lois' features.

"I'm from 2018 and I was sent here, eight years in the past." Avery took over and Clark smiled. The girl couldn't stand still for much time.

"You were sent here?" Lois asked, raised eyebrows and smirked lips. Yep, she didn't believe it at all. "By whom?"

Clark visibly paled at the question when he remembered what the answers was. Avery looked like she had to bite the answer back, like it was natural for her to tell the truth. The little girl reached for a silver necklace that hanged on her and nervously rubbed it. It was a natural anxious reaction and nobody would put much thought into it, but for some reason his curious eyes were drawn to Avery's necklace and the way she was holding it. While he wondered what the jewlery meant for her, he forgot what he was worrying about in the first place.

"I can't tell you that." She answered briefly and he was taken back to the night he met the little girl when she was also being mysteriously vague. He glanced at Lois and noticed her eyebrows had been raised a little higher at the girl's response.

"Why's that?" Lois asked again and only them Clark noticed that everyone else on the table were wacthing Avery and Lois as mindfully as he was.

"Because it's not my secret to tell." Avery rolled her eyes as if it was obvious and Lois smirked at he girl's reaction.

"Ok, then. If it's not you're secret to tell, it's also not mine to know." Lois casually said, sipping more of her wine. For some reason, Clark knew his eyes had lit up at her answer and he decided not to put much thought into it.

"I know it's hard to believe, Lois, but it's true." Clark started, gaining her attention. "Besides the fact she's pretty convincing..." Clark glanced at Avery with a smile and then went back to Lois. "...she also had this note on her pocket where it was written the date of yesterday and mentioned the 19th Police Department in NYC, where we found your father and that also happens to be next to the lake where I found you." Clark explained and stood up to take the note from his own pocket, giving it to Lois and sitting by the table again.

Lois took it and opened the not-so-neat note. Her eyes instantly widened.

"It's my handwriting, but I didn't write this." She stated, still looking at it.

"You didn't write it _yet_." Avery cut in. "I saw you writing that note a few minutes before I was sent here." She explained and Lois looked at her downright confused with everything.

Everyone was quiet for a moment and Avery sighed, Clark was pretty sure the girl was a bit annoyed.

"Look, ask me anything about you, I'll answer it and you'll know I'm actually from the future." Avery offered and Lois turned her body completely to the little girl, showing her interest.

"Just because you can answer a thing or two, doesn't mean you're from the future. There could be a lot of explations." Lois reasoned and Avery rolled her eyes.

"Fine, let's try it out then." The little girl said and grabbed Lois right arm out of nowhere. She turned Lois arm gently so the inside of her forearm was visible. That's when Clark noticed a scar. It went from the side of her wrist until a few inches before the middle of her forearm. It was a bit big, it was probably the size of his pinky, but still...His forearm almost hurt just by seeing it. "You got this scar when you saw your arm shining red and knew instantly that it was a tracker." Avery stated, tracing the scar with her fingertips slowly and gently in a way that, if Lois still had some sensitivity on the scar tissue, it would probably tickle. Clark watched as Lois' eyes widened in response at what Avery was saying. "You grabbed the small knife you used to carry around and ripped your own skin to take it off."

"How do you know that? I never told anybody." Lois asked, her eyes focusing only on the girl and vice versa.

"You told me several times. I used to ask about your scar all the time." Clark realized the little girl had lost all bits of annoyance she earlier looked like was collecting.

"And where do we know each other from again?" The people on the table were only onlookers on the whole scene and Lois and Avery didn't even look like they remembered they weren't alone. Avery still had Lois arm gripped gently.

"From the future." Avery smiled, softly this time. The other time Clark remembered her doing that was when she first told him Lois was alive. "You kind of were there when I was born. Which will happen in about two years or so."

Lois was silent for a moment, taking everything in. He realized everybody was doing the same even though they already knew Avery for a while. He guessed they were kind of...taking _them_ in. Both Lois and Avery. As individuals and as a pair. There was just something about them...

"Lois." He called for her softly and he didn't even think she heard him untill she abruptly stopped trying to guess if Avery was really real just by looking into her eyes and turned her head to him. "Where have you been?" He asked, his voice cracked slightly, almost imperceptibly, but Lois smiled at him, also almost imperceptibly, taking a bit of his pain away like she's been doing since the first time he saw her on the day before.

"Well, it's a long and weird story." She started and he couldn't help but smile. "And the shocker is that I wasn't even on Smallville." She grinned specifically at him and he grinned back, understanding their own, private joke.


	8. Ver-El

**_Chapter 8: Ver-El_**

 ** _Smallville, 2010_**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

"The first thing I remember after the car crash is waking up in a hotel room." Lois told them. "I was alone and it felt like I had the worst hangover ever. Also, I was really confused because the last thing I remembered before the whole accident thing was talking on the phone with Clark about some box I was looking for or whatever, then I got into my car to go back to the Talon. Next thing I know some guy in a truck forgot that there's actually traffic lights on streets and hit my car." She explained. "And I think I actually died and then came back when I woke up in the hotel room."

"Yes, you did."Avery cut in after sipping her orange juice. "You were ressurected by Lex Luthor. He left you a note in that hotel room, you read it and kept it with you."

Lois ajusted her body on the chair so she faced Avery. She looked annoyed at the girl.

"And how do you know that now?"

"You told me. In 2018." Avery stated as if she was an adult talking to a child. Which made no sense since she was the child talking to a grown woman. "You should just accept the fact that I really am from the future. I mean, weirder things have happened, it's not such a long shot." The little girl rolled her eyes at Lois.

"It is actually a long shot." Lois glanced at each person on the table, trying to make a point. "Come on, guys. It's time travel!" She exclaimed in a way that clearly said she was fiding it hard to understand why they actually considered the idea.

"Lois, I know it's a bit far fetched." Martha, his mom, tried. "But Avery is clearly a nice girl and wouldn't lie about something so important. And she also knows a lot about us. I'm sure that in two years or so you'll meet her when she's born and it will be proof enough." His mother finished and Lois looked thoughtful.

"Supposing she's telling the truth..." Lois startes and he smiled. His mother really had her way with words. "...You said I was there when you were born, so I must know your parents." She directed her hazel eyes to Avery's.

"Yep." Avery agreed cheerfully, probably satisfied that they were finally getting somewhere.

"Does that mean I know them at this time? Are we friends or something or I'm still going to meet them in a close future?"

"I also can't tell you that." Avery's hand went back to the necklace she had on her neck. Clark followed the movement with curiosity once again. She rubbed it gently and her young features showed how thoughtful she was at the moment.

"Of course you can't." Lois rolled her eyes. "Fine." She sighed, looking around. "If they believe you, I guess I can believe you, too."

"Oh great, that was easier than I expected." Avery said a bit surprised and Clark noticed Lois wanted to protest and question her way through Avery's story, but the girl was smart and continued talking before Lois could fully form a sentence. "Now, Clark...I need to talk to you, privately." Avery stood up like she was some kind of business woman, but it looked quite funny because she was six years old. Clark smiled to her and stood up as well, excusing himself.

"Is there something wrong?" Clark asked her as soon as they left the room. They were outside.

"Well, yes. I'm still in the past." Avery told him. "I thought that warning you that Lois was alive was the only thing I had to do to go back home, but I'm not home yet." She explained and he frowned. She had a point, when Avery arrived she mentioned that her family and himself of the future had told her to find Lois so she could go home. So why wasn't she home?

"Are you sure that warning us about Lois was the only thing you had to do?" Clark asked her after their moment of silence.

"Your future self told me that I didn't have to do anything, that I would go back to the future naturally. But he mentioned that it would be nice if I warned you about Lois, because it didn't matter if you knew she was alive from me or not, she would eventually show up here and you'd know." Avery explained. "I think I don't have to do anything, but I'm not gonna just stand here, I wanna go home." Clark smiled at her sympathetically. He had a feeling she would say something like that.

"Why don't we go down to the Fortress? We could speak to Jor-El. You said yourself he sent you here." Clark suggested and watched as Avery went deep in thought for a few seconds.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

He frowned.

"Why not? He could tell us what's going on..." He insisted. It seemed like a pretty good idea.

"Can I go alone?" She asked, refusing to answer his questions. His eyes narrowed at the little girl and his arms automatically crossed. He stood a bit taller and the girl sloped her back down just the slightest at his commanding gaze.

"What are you not telling me, young lady?" He heard himself say before he could even think and felt strangely uncomfortable with the atmosphere. He was acting like a jerky big brother or something and he didn't want Avery to feel uneasy which was how she was clearly feeling. Before he could apologize though, the girl interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, but Future You specifically told me not to reveal some stuff. And this is one of the stuff." She raised her chin and crossed her little arms a bit above her tummy. It was supposed to be a challenging, possibly threatening move, but he couldn't help but think it was the most adorable thing in the world.

"Look, I understand that somethings can't be said, but it is my Fortress and I don't know if I feel confortable letting you go to the Arctic all alone. All that cold and all that white, it just doesn't seem right to allow you to go by yourself." He tried explaining. It really was dangerous for someone as fragile as a little girl to go to the Fortress on her own, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to her because he didn't insist enough.

They were silent for a few moments, she seemed like she was considering what to do and possibly going through Future Him's words through her head to find some other way to interpretate them. Yep, it was definitely something like that. He didn't know Avery for more than a few days, but strangely he felt like he knew how her mind worked.

"We could go together, but..." She dramatically paused for a second and took a step closer to him. "...if you hear or see things there that you don't understand or that you have no idea why such things were said or done, please don't ask any questions. I'm not good at making up stories and excuses out of thin air like you are, so if you ask questions the only thing you'll have as an answer will be some really bad excuse because I won't tell you the full truth." She said very seriously, her soft voice was unnaturally firm considering she was a six year old.

"I guess I should feel suspicious since you just told me that you aren't and won't ever tell me the complete truth, but for some reason I feel like I can trust you with my eyes closed." He told her sincerely.

"Mom says I've got lots of charm in my DNA." She shrugged as unimportant and he smiled down at her. Whoever her Mother was, she was right. "So...when can we go to the Fortress?"

"Why don't we go after everybody's asleep? I don't want Lois getting suspicious of anything Jor-El-related." He told her. Protecting his secret was already like a second nature to him, he was always thinking about it, always making excuses to never ever let somebody suspect that the farmboy from Smallville could be anything more than just that, a farmboy.

"Are you sure you don't want her to know? Don't you trust her?" He heard Avery asking and frowned.

Of course he trusted Lois, she was so loyal and definitely a lot more trustworthy than most people on the planet. So why didn't he want her to know? Because he didn't want her to carry the burden of protecting his secret like he, his parents and Chloe do, right? But she was so strong, so smart, wouldn't not telling her be kind of an insult to her? She could handle it, he had no doubt. So why didn't he want her to know? Because she could maybe get hurt. He didn't want to make her an easy target for his enemies. His parents and Chloe have been through enough with those kind of things, they were there when some situations got out of control and they always ended up hurt--physically and emotionally. He just wanted to protect her, right? But she always reminded him that she could take care of herself physically and he was pretty sure that, even if he tried to hurt her emotionally, he wouldn't be able to. They were close friends, but probably not close enough to hurt each other like that. Although her death was probably the lowest point of his life, he knew that had a lot to do with the guilt that ate him alive everyday, the guilt of taking an innocent friend's life. So why didn't he want her to know?

Why couldn't he just tell her?

Why couldn't he?

Why?

Because then he'd have to tell her that he killed her.

 ** _A couple of hours later_**

They were sipping a late night coffee now. Clark was sure everybody was tired from all the worrying they did all day, his Mom was probably exhausted from cooking for hours and hours and they all looked like they could use a good night of sleep. Except they didn't want to stop talking. Lois was currently telling them about some adventures she's had in Brazil in 2007 and they all loved all of her stories. They clinged to every word she said, besides the fact that they missed her and wanted to be around her, Lois was also an amazingly good storyteller.

After his talk with Avery, he wanted to go to the Fortress already, but at the same time didn't want this moment to end. All those stories and all those fun moments she was telling them about made him feel less guilty, made him feel like maybe, just maybe, he wasn't such an awful person like he sometimes felt like when he remembered what he'd done.

He didn't want it to end, but he knew Lois wasn't saying everything he needed to hear. Everything they heard about the four years she completely disappeared has been fairly good and somewhat funny and interesting. But he needed to know what she's really been through. He knew she would never make them believe she was dead if she had the opportunity to warn them that she wasn't. Something had happened and he was determined to find out what it was.

He'd do it tomorrow though. The rest of the evening and probably the early morning hours he would dedicate to help Avery find out what she was still doing in the past. He knew Avery was one of those who could adjust themselves to any kind of situation, he knew that after only a few hours after their first meeting, she was strong by nature; but there was just enough a little girl could take. She needed her family, she was just a kid, and he planned on helping her getting what she needed.

"Ok, guys. I think Jonathan and I better go to sleep already or we won't be able to wake up any time soon tomorrow." His mother told them with an unshakable smile. She got up from the couch and Jonathan soon followed her. "You kids can stay here as long as you want. Avery, honey, you don't mind sharing your bedroom with Lois, do you?"

"Of course I do, she snores." Avery told everyone while trying to hold back her teasing smile. Lois gasped and turned her whole body to the little girl, wiggling her index finger.

"I do not snore!" She answered, making everybody in the room laugh disbelieving which made her ever angrier, Clark noticed.

"You guys can decide where you want to sleep, as long as Clark makes sure everybody's confortable." His Mom said and he nodded. She went up the stairs with his Dad and he was left with Lois, Chloe and Avery.

"Well, I'm going too, Jimmy's been texting me already to ask where I am." Chloe grabbed her coat after giving her cousin a hug and walked to the front door. "I might come for breakfast though, I want to help Avery here go back to the future." Chloe told them and he caught a glimpse of Avery's grateful smile. "See you guys tomorrow." And then she left.

He turned to Lois. "If you wanna go to bed now I can arrange things uptairs."

"Nah, it's okay, I'll stay here a little bit more." She answered making him feel a little torn. He needed to take Avery to the Fortress and wanted to do it as soon as possible, he didn't plan on spending the whole night in the Arctic with a six year old. However he also wanted to spend time with Lois, make sure everything was okay with her and he nedded to find out where she's been this whole time. She talked about some adventures in Latin America, some spider watching in Australia and the cold in Russia, but never actually talked about what made her go travelling around the world without warning anybody. And he knew she'd never let her friends and family think she was dead. It was eating him up inside not to know, he kept going through the worst possible circumstances that made her do something like that and he didn't like it at all. He didn't want to feel any more guilty, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to avoid it when she finally tells him what happened.

"Jor-El? Could you help me?" He heard Avery asking to the cold Fortress. Her voice echoed and there was a moment of silence as if Jor-El's programming was processing her presence.

 _"I am here for you, Ver-El."_ Jor-El answered and his eyes bugged out. Ver-El? El as in Jor-El? As in Kal-El?

"Ver-El?" He voiced his confusion and Avery glared at him. Again, he knew he was supposed to feel threatened, but she was just too adorable.

"You told me you wouldn't ask any questions." She simply said, not giving room for him to think of a smart answer. "I need to go back home. I've traveled through time. I came from 2018." She told Jor-El.

 _"I am aware, Ver-El, but I cannot do anything for you yet. Your duty is to discover the real reason why you are here."_

"I thought you sent me here to warn Clark and the others about Lois being alive." She complained a little confused. He was confused too, but didn't want to get too lost in his inner thoughts and lose important information. So he just kept listening quietly.

 _"That is incorrect. You were sent here for greater reasons."_

"What reasons?"

 _"I cannot tell you that. This is part of your journey."_

Avery washed away any traces of confusion of her features, narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"My Dad told you to not drag me or Parker into your plans." As soon as she said it, he frowned even more confused. What the hell was happening?

 _"Your father still doesn't understand my reasoning. However, he will understand and support my decision to have you sent here soon, do not worry."_

"I just don't understand why I'm here!" Her arms uncrossed and fell at her sides. She was clearly frustrated. "I'm six years old! Why didn't Parker come? He's older." He still didn't know who Parker was, but he was guessing he was someone from Avery's family.

 _"Ker-El has his own journey and destiny. He starts following it slightly after than you."_

That's another El! Ok, he had to do something, he couldn't stand there and just watch as his kryptonian family name is tossed around from person to person. He was getting the words out of his lips when she said something else, stopping him.

"Is that because girls mature faster than boys?"

 _"Something of the sorts."_ Jor-El said and he almost laughed out loud. He decided he liked Jor-El better when Avery was the one speaking to him.

"Ok, so all that means you can't do anything to help me? I wanna go home." He thought he saw her eyes glistening for a moment, but they were back to normal so fast that he was left wondering if he was seeing things.

 _"I am sorry you are suffering, Ver-El, but I cannot do anything to stop your destiny. I must help you achieve it."_

"Awesome, that's just awesome." He heard her mumble and saw that as an opportunity to figure out what was happening. Soon she'd start talking again and when she starts, she doesn't stop for a long while.

"Avery, what's going on?"

 _"Kal-El, my son. Do you not know about your daughter's situation?"_

His what?

"My what?"

"Great, thanks grandpa."

Daughter?

Grandpa?

Ver-El? Ker-El?

What the hell?

 _"Your father must know about you so he can help you achieve your goals in this time and year, Ver-El."_

"Couldn't you at least have been a little more subtle?" She asked annoyed.

 _"I am sorry, Ver-El, but I distinctly remember your mother asking me to be less vague and more direct."_

"Of course she did."

"Avery, can you please explain what's going on? Jor-El's talking like I'm your...father?" He found his voice. He's been trying to get out of process zone to produce-words-and-ask-what-is-happening zone.

"Hmmm...you kinda is." She said. He felt his heart throbbing in his chest.

"...What?"

"Remember when I said you were a friend of the family?" She asked sheepishly and he nodded slowly and suspecting. "Well, you're more like part of the family." He frowned as it finally hit him. If what she's saying and what Jor-El said was the truth...then that meant..."I'm your daughter, Dad."


	9. Truth

**_Chapter 9: Truth_**

"How could I've been so careless?" He asked to the void of the Fortress. More to himself than anybody else, but he knew Avery had to have heard.

"You weren't careless, you warned me about the time travel and made sure I was prepared for it. You're never careless, Daddy."

Daddy.

God, it felt strangely good to hear her say that. He got a sudden warm fuzzy feeling inside him ever since she confirmed she was his daughter, and hearing her calling him like that? Yeah, it felt really good and he almost forgot that she was currently in the past and he wasn't her Daddy quite yet.

"Avery, you should've told me from the start..." He mumbled. He meant for her to listen to him this time, but at the same time he knew he wasn't really caring anymore. He just wanted her to be okay.

"Future you told me not to tell you anything about who my family members are. I asked him why not at least five times, and he kept saying it was because he needed to make sure everything was okay when I came back. He said he had to make sure me and my brother were born." Avery explained and he drew a shaky breath. Now that he knew who she really was and what she really meant to him, he wanted to be more like his future self right now and also needed to make sure she and her brother were born in the future. Brother...he also had a son. He felt almost giddy with the implications of having a family like that. Avery was amazing, he knew that ever since the first day he met her, the way she handled the craziness her childhood was currently being left him enchanted since the first time he laid eyes on her pretty smile. He couldn't help but wonder how her brother was, too.

"I know, I'm sorry." He automatically answered her. "I just wish I could fix this."

"Don't worry, the past isn't all that bad. I mean, the future is way better and we have a lot more awesome movies and cartoons there, but 2010 it's okay I guess." She shrugged her shoulders and he was again surprised at her ability to make him laugh and momentarily forget his problems.

"When are you born?"

"Can't tell you."

"When is your brother born?"

"Also can't tell you."

"Who's your mother?"

"Do you really think I'll answer that?" She rolled her eyes and he felt the smile tugging at his lips again.

"Guess I'll just have to wait to find out all those things." He sighed a little disappointed.

They were both silent for a moment and he noticed that her knee was bouncing up and down anxiously. She was sat in a pile of crystals that he never knew was there and was biting her lower lip nevoursly.

"You're dying to tell me, aren't you?" He grinned at her anxiety.

"I really want to tell you." She admitted. "But I'm not going to." She determinedly crossed her little arms. He smiled softly marveling the fact that one day this little girl was going to be his daughter.

 ** _Smallville, Kent Farm_**

 ** _Morning after_**

"Wait, let me get this straight." Lois said, interrupting the shocked silence that fell on all of the people in the living room. "As if Avery here being from the future wasn't striking enough, you two are gonna come in here and say that she..." She nodded her head towards Avery. "...is your daughter?"

Ok, so when she said it like that it didn't sound that believable, but he was sure Avery was his own flesh and blood. Before he found out she was his daughter he already cared so much for her, it feels impossible for her not to be his.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying." He tried to sound firm, but Lois was making him nervous when she looked at him like that, like she found hard to believe anything that came out of his mouth. "I know it sounds...pretty out there. But I know it's true." He tried explaining it. It was a hard thing to put into words, he just felt it.

He glanced down at Avery who seemed completely unnaffected with Lois' interrogation and everybody else's silence. The girl met his eyes and shrugged her shoulders unbothered.

"But...Why didn't you say anything before?" Clark heard his Mother asking and forced his eyes to leave Avery.

"I told you before...I was told I couldn't say anything that could mess the future up." Avery explained and another moment of silence fell upon them. He wanted to make them believe and wanted them to welcome her to the family already so they could start working on how to send her home as soon as possible. Apparently, things didn't quite depend on what he wanted.

"But you don't even look like Clark." Chloe was the one to break the silence now. She was right, she didn't really look like him. She also didn't act like him. He understood why they were having trouble accepting it and believing it. They didn't feel like he felt and weren't there when Jor-El himself had called Avery his daughter.

Avery rolled her eyes annoyed. "Look, this isn't too hard to believe, from all the stories I've heard, you've seen crazier things." She stated. Frustration was making it's way up to her voice gradually.

"That's true." Lois admitted. "But still...How is time travel even possible? And out of all the people in the world, why is Clark Kent's daughter experiencing it?" She asked, taking a moment to observe the other people in the room besides Avery. Chloe just shrugged as a response, but he was sure she gave him a look before, silently asking for one of his terrible excuses to the crazy things that happened around him. He didn't really what to say though...He couldn't exactly just tell her it was happening because those were the kind of things that happened when you were an alien.

"I don't know why, Lois." His father, Jonathan, started out uncrossing his arms. "But if Clark says he's sure everything that's happening is true, then I guess we don't have a choice but accept it." Clark noticed his father glancing at him during his attempt to convince Lois and the others. He probably saw something in Clark's face that said 'I know this for sure because I have aliens ways to know it which I cannot say anything about in front of Lois'. He used that face a lot, so it was fairly easy for his father to decipher his line of thought right now.

"Why don't you guys go clean up for breakfast?" His Mom suggested, but she still seemed a little troubled. "We could talk more after we're satisfied and well fed." She smiled kindly and he smiled back at her.

"You're right, Mrs. K. I'm just gonna take a shower really quick." Lois announced and started climbing the stairs. He just couldn't miss this kind of opportunity...

"The kind of quick shower that leaves no hot water, you mean?" He smiled mischievously as he saw her stop climbing and angle her head to him slowly, meeting his eyes with a glare.

"I was going to be nice and leave some hot water for you, but you don't deserve it anymore." She lifted her chin and went upstairs, leaving an amused smile on his face.

He, Chloe and his parents were left alone with Avery.

The silence was deafening, his parents and Chloe were watching Avery closely like they were waiting for her to do or say something that would confirm that she was really his daughter from the future. For the first time in the short time he knew Avery, he realized she seemed a bit uncomfortable. Maybe she didn't like silences.

"We went to the Fortress. That's where I found out that she's my daughter." Clark told them when they shifted their eyes from Avery to him, wanting explanations.

"You took her to the Fortress? Did she at least have a coat?" His mother asked worried. He smiled at that, she'd worry about any little girl, especially one like Avery.

"Oh don't worry, grandma. I'm not that affected by the cold."

He was pretty sure his Mom just about melted when she was called 'grandma'. She even had to lean on his Dad for a second. With Avery on his side, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be so hard to make them believe.

"When we were on the Fortress, Jor-El adressed Avery as Ver-El and he called her my daughter. Then, Avery herself confirmed to me that I'm her father."

"Well, I guess that's pretty believable." Chloe mumbled in a loud way.

"That's what I thought." Clark smiled.

"How did you get a kryptonian name, Avery?" Chloe asked, her expression was curious and confused. He had asked himself that question, he wondered if Jor-El had taken his life on his hands again and did it against his will.

"Just like I got my human name. Mom and Dad chose it and then they told Jor-El to get his approval. Our parents decided to make our kryptonians names part of our human ones. If you take out the first and the last letter of my name, all that's left is Ver. With Parker, the first three letters are taken, leaving Ker. And Nathan got Han-El."

"Wait, there's two others?" Chloe interrupted Avery's explanation with wide eyes.

Nathan? He had another son?

"You have two brothers?" His Mom asked just as wide-eyed. The only thing he was able to do was open and close his mouth repeatedly, trying to find words to express what he was feeling. He had three kids. Three. And he always though he'd be alone.

"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have said that." Avery scratched her head thoughtful. "But it's out in the open now, so there's no reason denying it. Parker is my twin brother and Nate is the younger one."

"Wait a second." Clark interrupted her. "At the Fortress, you complained to Jor-El that Parker should've been the one to be sent here because he was older."

"Technically, he is older. Six minutes older." Avery told them with a smile. "But I'm the more mature one, of course."

"Wow...just...wow" Chloe sat down with a dazed look on her face. He assumed he had the same look on his, because that's how he felt: dazed. But it was a good kind of dazed.

"Yeah, tell me about it." He said and glanced at his parents. His Mom got a big grin on her face and his Dad was wearing the same expression he was.

"Do you believe me now? Because if you don't, I could always tell your lives stories, that I've heard about countless of times, and make you realized that I am from the future and also am a Kent."

"I'm pretty sold." Chloe raised her hand.

"I never really doubted." He smiled at Avery who smiled back.

"I believe you, honey." His mother got into the game. They all looked expectantly at his father and, after a few moments of staring matches, he sighed and smiled.

"I still think I'm too young to be a grandfather, but I guess I can accept it, too." He said, making them laugh.

 **IIIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _Kent Farm_**

 ** _After dinner_**

Clark watched as Chloe left the house. She wasn't feeling so good after dinner, said she had a stomach bug or something and would be back after work on the next day. His parents had already gone to bed and Avery was really tired from barely not sleeping the night before because if their trip to the fortress, so she fell asleep on the couch, with her head on his lap.

At first he didn't really know what to do and felt a wave of uncomfortable and unknown feelings crashing into him. He wasn't sure if he had to pull away from her or if he had to stay frozen on spot. He decided to just do whatever instinct told him to. It told him to caress his fingers through her long brown hair, making her go into an even heavier slumber. He felt relaxed, he felt good. Having her there with him made his heart ache from happiness. He couldn't explain it, but he sure loved feeling it.

"She looks peaceful." He heard Lois saying. She had a of coffee between her hands, her feet were up on the coffee table. She was sat on the other side of the couch, close to Avery's feet.

"Yeah, she must be tired from all this mess." Clark replied, not taking his eyes of his hand on Avery's hair.

However, Lois' chuckle made hin tear his eyes away from the little girl so he could identify the reason why she was amused.

"What?" He asked, a smile slowly getting space on his face at the infectious sound.

"It's just that I'm imagining Future Clark Kent." Lois started and he nodded for her to continue, still missing her point. "This girl must have you wrapped around her little finger." She finished with a smile, her amusement dying down to something softer.

"Maybe." He answered simply. "Most likely." He corrected after catching a glimpse of Avery's little face.

"I still can't believe you have like an army of kids, Smallville." Lois poked him on his arm and he rolled his eyes at her exaggeration.

"It's not an army, Lois. It's just three." He regretted already telling Lois about his three kids, she would never live it down.

"Like I said, an army." She smiled again. He missed those moments with her, those moments where they'd be up until late after his parents had gone to bed and they'd talk and laugh, tease and banter. And she was always smiling, always. The only times she wasn't were on mornings, but he didn't even count them anymore because like Lois had once said, she wasn't herself before 11AM.

He must have been lost in thought for a while, considering the odd look Lois was giving him.

"Everything alright?" She whispered to him. They've been whispering lower and lower since Avery fell sleep.

"Yeah, I was just thinking." He replied. "Thinking about how things used to be before you..." He refused to say she died when she was there, in front of him. Alive and smiley like she's always been.

He watched as realization hit her a little harder than he thought it would. Until now, Lois had been all jokes and fun stories about the time she was away, but for the first time, she looked like maybe it wasn't that fun to have stayed away for so long.

He had to ask, he had to know what happened. Four years ago she was dead, and he needed to know what kept her from them.

"What really happened, Lois? You wouldn't just quit on us and vanish to God knows where after Lex made you come back from the dead." Even he could hear the disgust in his voice. Lex Luthor had brought her back when Clark was the one who let her die in the first place. It felt terribly wrong.

"Guess I can't run from this conversation anymore, can I?" Her smile was weak this time and it made his chest ache. It was confirmation enough from him; she had suffered.

"Tell me, please." He almost begged right there and then. Guilt was already eating him alive, some begging wouldn't do any harm anymore. But probably sensing his hopelessness, Lois took a deep breath before starting to talk.

"When I woke up in that hotel room, I noticed the note Lex had left me. It said 'See you in the future' and he signed with a double L at the bottom the card. I just knew it was him because the card was from LexCorp." She explained and he nodded for her to continue. "I left the room and was walking through the aisle, trying to figure out what the hell had happened, when I heard a weird noise coming from the room I was passing through. I wouldn't have minded other people's business in a normal situation, but that noise...I felt like I knew what it meant, unfortunely, and decided to look around."

Clark had no idea where this was going, but when Lois decided to 'look around' things never ended well.

"I don't know how I did it, but in five minutes I was already on the ventilation system of the hotel, looking for the hotel room I needed to see." She told him and he shook his head. He also didn't know how she does things like that. He was the one with powers, but she always was able to make him seem like he was just a normal human being when she got into situations like that. "I was directly above the middle of the room, nobody could see me there, but I could see everything. I wish I didn't though." He watched as her throat moved slightly as she gulped with the memory. "The sound I had heard before was from a silenced gun shot. And another one was on the way. And that one, that one I didn't just hear, but saw it. It went right through a woman's head who was sat, gripping her knee, probably where the first bullet was lodged."

"You watched her die?" Clark asked, his whisper barely audible. He didn't want Avery to hear something like that. He couldn't imagine what it was watching a person being murdered.

"Yes." She answered numbly. "I did, and it was horrible."

"I'm sorry." He whispered back at her, his hand searching for hers to offer any kind of support he could. She accepted his hand on hers, but smiled at him appreciatively.

"It's not your fault, no need to be sorry." She told him and sighed again, probably getting ready for the continuation of the story. "A gasp, Clark. All it took was a gasp." She said, almost disgustingly. Frustrated.

"What do you mean?"

"When I heard the gunshot and watched her die, I gasped. I tried covering my mouth, but it was already out there." He felt his hand being squeezed. "Almost instantly, the man who had killed her looked up in my direction and saw me. I carved his face into my memory and got out of there as fast as I could." He was the one squeezing her hand now. He was anxious with the story. Although Lois was there, right in front of him, the irrational part of his mind was still afraid that she wouldn't be able to run away from the man. "I thought he didn't even follow me. I managed to get to the hotel lobby and could see the streets from the front door. I was steps away from being away from him, from whatever it was I had just seen. That's when my cell phone rang."

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _December 2005_**

 ** _Metropolis Hotel_**

 _Unknown Number. That's what it said on her cell's screen. She was breathing heavily from physical effort and from everything that happened in the last 24 hours. She died, was resurrected by Lex Luthor, watched a woman being murdered and was currently running away from her killer, assuming of course that he was following her._

 _She didn't want to answer her phone, she didn't think she could given her current state of mind, but for some reason, that feeling in her guts told her she had to answer it._

 _Taking a deep breath, she pressed the green button on the screen and placed the phone on her ear._

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Miss Lane." The stranger's voice was chilly and made her gulp unconsciously._

 _"Who is it?"_

 _"I'm the man you've watched having some fun in the room." He told her, his voice never wavering._

 _"You call that fun? Geez, you must have a really crappy life." His chuckle was even worse than his voice, she noted._

 _"You look like an interesting person, Miss Lane. That's why I'm going to give you a head start."_

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _"I enjoy the chase." He said. "And I'll be chasing you."_

 **IIIIIIIIIIII**

"...It turns out that the head start he was talking about meant that I had to run away from him, after all I had just witnessed him killing someone, so he couldn't risk me going to the cops. After he hung up the phone I grabbed the passports my father made me years ago, the ones reserved for emergencies, and went to Paraguay. That was the first country out of many that I visited, not for fun or for tourism, but because I was being chased."

Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lois had been chased by a killer during 4 years? She's been running away all this time? He couldn't help but think that she wouldn't have been in that hotel if he hadn't done what he did. Before he could drown himself with guilt, she continued telling her story.

"I found out his name was Damian James, one of the wealthiest men of the country, closely behind the Luthor's and the Queen's. And trust me, I know how the Luthor's fortune isn't all honest and made out of intelligence and hard work, but Damian James can definitely be even more dishonest than Lex. His fortune was made out of thefts, murders and everything bad that can get you money."

"And he chased you around for four years?" Clark asked frustrated, it was so unbelievable that one man could go through all of that to justify unjustifiable things.

"In a way, yes. He was never around physically. I've seen him personally just two times; when I saw him committing the murder and when I came back to the USA, a few days ago."

"You saw him a few days ago?!'

"Yes, behind a cage, in jail. Where he belongs."

 **IIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _December 2005_**

 ** _Asuncion, Paraguay_**

 _Lois looked around her hotel room. It was probably the crappiest hotel she's ever been on. It looked ugly as hell, the walls had a horrible shade of yellow that reminded her of vomit and the carpet was a sickening mix of orange and grey, but she could tell it was white probably many years ago. Besides that, it smelt like rotten egg with soap. Yeah, she wouldn't be able to sleep on this, but that was all she had money for._

 _She couldn't call anyone. Couldn't call her Dad, couldn't call Chloe and couldn't call the Kents. She was completely alone on this, she knew that. She was wishing for a new call from the murderer, which she found out was named Damian James and was extremely wealthy. She did her research on him while she was on the plane; finding out who he was hadn't been so hard considering he was, in a way, famous and she had seen his face clearly._

 _She needed him to call again so she would know something, anything about what he really knew about her. She actually didn't doubt he knew already that she had left the U.S., but she was fairly certain he didn't know where she was, at least not yet. She had used one of the emergency passports her father had given her when she turned 18; it came with a fake I.D., a new name and backstory. If she had to travel again, she would use another one, claiming a new identity everytime she needed to disappear._

 _One of her greatest worries at the moment was the fact that her friends and family probably thought she was dead. It was, in a way, good because they wouldn't come looking for her, which would take them out of harm's way, out of Damian's way. However it was also bad, because she would be considered dead, not only to the State but to her family as well. She hoped this wouldn't last long, but couldn't help but feel that Damian would stick around for a while._

 _She had barely met him, but already hated him._

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIII**

 **Author's notes: I thought about having one of Superman's villains of the comics as the villain of this story, but decided against it. I needed something fresh that I myself could mold. Anyways, hope some of your questions about why Lois had to stay away are answered. There are still many loose ends and also Avery's side story. We still have a long way, though.** **So, in this chapter, you've learned why Lois stayed why and that this reason is now in jail. We're gonna go back to that in the future so you'll understand it all better.** **You also learned Parker is Avery's twin brother and that they have an younger brother, Nathan. We will also go back to that, learn more about their future family and how it all affects their lives and how it is connected.**

 **Hope you liked it ;)**


	10. Think

**Chapter 10: Think**

Clark carried the plates and glasses to the kitchen sink with Lois' help while the rest of them still chatted at the dinner table. It had been a nice meal. Lois' father, the General, stopped by for a visit and ate with them, they all talked and ate for at least two hours.

"You wash, I dry." He heard Lois saying and he rose his eyebrows, looking down at her.

"No, you wash and I dry." He argued as he put the dishes on the counter, beside the sink.

"When I lived here you would always wash and I'd always dry, why mess it up?" She asked him with her arms crossed and pretending to be annoyed. He could clearly tell the difference from when she pretended to be annoyed to when she actually was.

"Why not change it up a bit? I always do the hard work around here, unbelievable..." He complained and rolled his eyes playfully as he turnes the water on, knowing he'd be doing the washing no matter how much he complained.

She didn't say anything back, probably satistied that she got what she wanted and he'd be washing after all.

"So, Avery..." His ears strecthed at the sound of the General's voice coming from the kitchen table. "I've never seen you around before, are you family?" Sam asked and Clark tried very hard not to go and sit down with them to help his parents, Avery and Chloe to think up an excuse for the little girl's presence there.

"I'm Clark's cousin." He heard his daughter answering.

"From what side of the family?" Sam asked again and Clark rubbed the sponge harder on the plate.

"She's my brother's granddaughter." His mother answered on Avery's place and he took a deep breath, calming down his nerves. Although he'd trust Lois blindly, her father was another matter entirely. If he found out Avery was from the future, the next day probably all soldiers from the U.S. army would be knocking on the farm house's door.

"Yeah, my Dad and Mom are celebrating their anniversary in France and I'm staying here at the Kents for a while." Avery spoke and this time he sneaked a peek and noticed she was smiling as naturally as nature itself. Geez, the girl could lie like a politician. Should he worry?

"Oh, that's nice. You seem like a nice girl, Avery. Your parents must be good people." The General complimented and Clark smiled when he realized he was half of the reason Avery was 'a nice girl'. That still surprised him a hell of a lot.

"Thank you, and yes they're very good people. Mom once helped an old lady cross the street without complaining."

Clark accidentally let the plate slip from his hand and fall down on the sink at Avery's words. She did it on purpose, there was no other explanation. Who said something like that to a General? And if it was true, he could see already that Avery was pretty much a mini version of her mother, whoever she was.

"If you wanted to break the poor plate, all you had to do was throw it on the floor." Lois' voice broke his thoughts and he rolled his eyes again.

"It's not broken. And it actually slipped from my hand. I don't know if you're aware of it, but detergent is actually really slippery." He argued back and she grabbed the plate from his hand to dry it.

"I see you can give as much as you get." Lois told him, smiling. "Who have you been practicing banter with while I was away?" He smiled at her question, but could tell it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Nobody." He answered. "It was pointless without you." He confessed and gulped when her eyes softened. "I mean..." He cleared his throat. "I'm not really a social guy, so I didn't really meet anyone as sassy and annoying as you." He smiled wickedly and she chuckled. They remained quiet after that.

"Kids, forget the dishes for a while, come in here for the night tea." His Mom called them out from the dinner table. They looked at each other, agreed they could use a break from washing and drying and proceeded to sit by the dinner table with the others.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to come visit you earlier, Lo, but I've been busy doing paperwork so you can become a legal citizen again." The General explained. "And even though I got a few weeks of rest from the Army, I still couldn't manage to do it fast enough because, apparently, there are more people trying to come back from the dead than I thought, so the waiting is a bit long." He told them and Lois chuckled.

"It's okay, Dad. I'm just glad I'm in the world of the living again." She answered and sipped her tea.

"I also made a doctor appointment for your arm." The General told her, and mimicking her actions, sipped his tea. He glanced at Lois just in time to catch her annoyed frown and her roll of eyes.

"I told you it's fine. It's been five months since it's happened, if it had any side effects, it would've happened by now."

"Lois, you almost ripped your arm off." The General said, his voice strong as steel.

"That's an exaggeration." Lois stated. "The worst thing that could happen would be accidentally cutting through an important wrist vein and bleeding to death, which obviously hasn't happened." She said like it was a completely normal thing. Bleeding to death? And she was saying she was fine? Honestly, the woman had to be crazy.

"I think it wouldn't be such a bad idea." He decided to help the General's case. "It's just a check up, Lois. It's not like you're going to be there for more than two hours." He grabbed the tea pot and filled Lois' cup. Maybe if he did something nice like refilling her cup, she would see that he only wanted her to be okay and wasn't siding with her father to annoy her.

Her glare to him seemed enough for him to know that refilling her tea cup 60 times wouldn't be enough for her to take it easy on him.

"Look, I've said I'm fine. I much rather spend my time here, with all of you, than going into an hospital and spend time with a bunch of doctors who are going to ask me a million questions about my time away which, for your information, I'm not too fond of." Her voice took the General's steel like tone and he instantly bent his head down a bit, remembering he was the reason for that scar on her arm, he was the reason for her time away, he was the reason for her suffering.

"I'm sorry." At his muttered words, all heads turned to him. Glancing up, he noticed his parents looked like they were looking to a sad, abandoned puppy; Chloe looked like she was tense; the General and Avery looked just plain confused and Lois was looking at him like he was crazy.

"Sorry about what?" She asked him casually, her tone from before dying down to something lighter.

"I mean...uh, I'm sorry you ha-had to go through..that." He lied, making her frown, but they seemed to have accepted his answer and proceeded to talk about future plans about the farm, on his parents part, and about the Army, on the General's part.

He was lost in thought, not really caring about the conversation. He wondered if he should tell Lois about what he did, but just the thought of her possible reactions made him tense. He just got her back, he didn't want to lose her again because she decided that what he did was too damaging to their friendship. He wasn't ready to risk what they had for honesty. At least not yet.

"...I just wanted to thank you to being so kind and giving Lois everything she needs here. It means a lot for me and I'm sure it means even more for her." Clark stopped his mind from racing to hear Sam Lane's words. "Especially around this time when Metropolis is so dangerous, keeping Lois here is very important for me."

"It's our absolute pleasure, Lois has been nothing but a darling since all these years we've known her, having her back has been amazing." His Mom squeezed Lois' hand.

"So, Metropolis hasn't had it easy huh?" His Dad asked curiously with the General's latest comment.

"It certainly hasn't. Yesterday I was there, at the Metropolis Police Department, handing in more paperwork on Lois-back-from-the-dead situation and heard a thing or two about the dangers of the city." The General started, earning everyone's attention. "Apparently, there has been a serial killer in town, he's killed three people already. Same methods. A gunshot on a non-lethal part of the body and a..."

"Dad!" Lois called him out with a horrified look on her face. She moved her hands to cover Avery's ears. His daughter, apparently familiar with that kind of behaviour, put her hands over Lois' hands to cover her ears more carefully. The scene was quite adorable and he couldn't help but smile. "There's a kid in here, you can't talk stuff like that." She whispered loudly.

"I'm still listening." Avery warned her and Lois pressed her ears harder, being followed by Avery who also used more of her six year-old strength to help Lois.

"See, let's just hope she doesn't have any nightmares or I'm blaming it all on you." She adressed her Dad who raised an eyebrow in response.

"But I've explained to you and your sisters the concept of a serial killer when you two were younger than Avery." The General defended himself.

"Yeah, and look how wonderful we turned out. Lucy has stolen thousands from powerful people and I have been declared dead for four years." Lois whispered back and, to Clark's surprise, the General chuckled.

"Ok, ok...I'll wait until she falls asleep so I can update you guys on Metropolis' situation."

"Thank you." Lois said and took her hands away from Avery's head sides.

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _A few hours later_**

The General had gone back to Metropolis after dinner with the promise of coming back to visit Lois and the Kents again soon. Clark could appreciate it, since he knew it would be good for Lois to have her father around for a change.

Chloe had also gone home and his parents had gone uptairs with Avery claiming it was late and they needed an early start on the day after. Similarly to the night before, it was him and Lois sat on the couch, watching the low-volume TV.

Clark didn't want to bring back any bad memories for Lois, but he couldn't help but ask about her time away. He was the reason for it after all, so even though he didn't want to show any kind of emotions guilt-related that might make her confused about why he was feeling that way, he tried the casual approach and slowly moved from the subject of late night TV shows to the amount of travels the actors must have to do, to the upside of it which would be getting to know lots of places in the world, to swiftly asking her if she had been to many different countries during her life or if had only been the ones she mentioned before. So he asked, and she answered with a tiny smile, she probably knew what his intentions were from the beginning, but as long as she wasn't mad or hurt, he would take what she would give.

"I've been to many different countries in the last four years. And the years before that, when the General used to carry me around from base to base." She had answered. Clark decided to stay quiet and nod, encouraging her to tell him more in a casual, silent way.

Before she could answer anything else, they heard voices coming from upstairs. It looked like his mother's voice, but she had already gone to sleep for a while now. Clark looked at Lois with a frown, which she responded with one of her own before they both got up from the couch to climb the stairs and find out what was going on.

Arriving at the second floor, Clark noticed both his father and his mother were awake and looking worried.

"What's going on?" He heard Lois asking.

"Have you seen Avery?" His Dad asked and Clark frowned, confused.

"What do you mean? She's sleeping in my bedroom." He answered and walked towards his bedroom door, opening it while feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"She's not there, son." His father said as soon as he opened the door and checked for himself. His bed was messy, which meant Avery really had been there, but wasn't anymore. Breathing in deeply, he maintained his composure and turned to talk to the other.

"Ok, why don't we look for her around the farm then? She's here somewhere, we just have to find out where." He proposed and went downstairs. Lois soon followed him.

"Your parents said she's for sure not upstairs. They looked everywhere. She has to be in the barn or somewhere outside." She said and Clark ran a hand through his hair. Why would Avery go out in the middle of the night? It made no sense.

"Ok, why don't you check the barn? I'll check the rest outside." He grabbed his coat and didn't give Lois time to wonder how would he check the whole farm perimeter by foot. As soon as she was out of sight, he powered up his super speed and checked everything he had to check in 2 minutes. He also checked inside the house again.

"I can't find her anywhere!" He told Lois when he entered the barn.

"How did you check everything already?" She asked from the loft. He looked up to her and tried thinking up an excuse, but his brain wasn't working properly.

"Just trust me, she's not at the Farm. I'll try checking the town. Maybe she knows some neighbors and went down to their house." He was ready to leave when Lois words stopped him.

"In the middle of the night? Avery might be impulsive, but I find it hard to believe she's not smart enough to know that no neighbor is awake at this hour."

Lois was right, Avery wouldn't go out to someone's house at this hour, and it wasn't like her to do things without telling him about it first. He might only have known her for a short period of time, but he knew she was desperate to get home and would never do anything that wasn't with that in mind.

"I can't not do anything, Lois. What if somebody took her?" He asked and started to pace around the barn. Lois went down from the loft to meet him.

"Why would somebody take her? Nobody even knows her because she's from the future. And how would somebody take her without us listening?" She reasoned.

"Then what?" He continued pacing. "What do I do? I'm supposed to do something, I was supposed to protect her, I'm her father for God's sake!" He threw his arms up in frustration.

"This isn't your fault. And you're not her father quite yet."

"It doesn't matter, because the version of me in 2018 that is her father let her be transported to the past and the version of me that isn't her father yet let her be taken away. What kind of parent am I?"

"Clark, you don't know what really went down in 2018. That's exactly what we've been trying to find out, actually. And I'm 100% sure you would never be a bad parent, that's just impossible." Lois finished, but Clark didn't feel any better. Avery was still missing and he didn't know what to do or where to look because he couldn't think straight.

"Maybe she sleepwalks? I should've asked if she sleepwalked..." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Clark, stop pacing, you're making me dizzy." She asked but he barely heard her. Maybe he should run around Metropolis. If somebody took Avery, they couldn't be farther away from Metropolis, it hasn't been enough time for them to completely disappear.

"Clark..."

Or maybe Avery is hidden somewhere because she realized that he was a terrible father and wanted to get away from him to figure out her stuff alone.

"Smallville, listen..."

Or maybe whatever was wrong was suddenly fixed and Avery was sent back to the future. Which he wasn't completely satisfied with because he wished he could have at least said goodbye.

"Clark!" The scream made his head hurt because of his sensitive ears. He turned to Lois who looked extrenely annoyed already. Maybe she's been calling for him for more time than he thought.

"What?" He answered but his pacing was resumed.

"Clark, look at me." She approached him, took his face between her hands making him look at her. "Just breathe." He did as she told him and realized he had been holding his breath for minutes. His ears recognized his own heartbeat, it was faster than he ever could remember. "Breathe. Think."

Taking a deep breath in, he tried a more reasonable approach to the matter. Avery never showed anything but good feelings towards him, so she wouldn't run away unless something had happened, which it hadn't since she was sleeping a few hours ago.

"She's done this. She planned this." He said, his breathing was becoming shallow again when he thought of the dangers she could be in doing whatever she was doing.

"Ok, great. So nobody took her. It's okay, it's something. Keep thinking." Lois said and held hi. by his shoulders gently.

"Ok..." He took another deep breath. "She planned this, so she's doing something related to her time travel because I know there's nothing more that she wants then going back to her family."

"Yes, exactly." She completed. "Then you know that she's gone somewhere that she thinks will be the solution for this."

The solution for this. He didn't know for sure, but if he had to take a guess he would say that there weren't many places that a six-year old knew that could deal with time travel.

 _"Can I go alone?" She asked, refusing to answer his questions. His eyes narrowed and his arms automatically crossed. He stood a bit taller and the girl sloped her back down just the slightest at his commanding gaze._ _"What are you not telling me, young lady?" He heard himself say before he could even think and felt strangely uncomfortable with the atmosphere. He was acting like a jerky big brother or something and he didn't want to make Avery feel uneasy which was how she was clearly feeling. Before he could apologize though, the girl interrupted his thoughts._ _"I'm sorry, but Future You specifically told me not to reveal some stuff. And this is one of the stuff." She raised her chin and crossed her arms bit above her tummy. Ot was supposed to be a challenging, possibly threatening move, but he couldn't help but think it was the most adorable thing in the world._ _"Look, I understand there are some things that can't be said, but it is my Fortress and I don't know if I feel confortable letting you go to the Arctic all alone. All that cold and all that white, it just doesn't seem right to allow you to go by yourself."_

"I know where she is." He told Lois before running in normal speed out of the barn and, as soon as he made sure she wasn't seeing him, he ran as fast as he could up north.

 **IIIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _Meanwhile at the Fortress of Solitude_**

"Jor-El!" Avery called out as soon as she got in the Fortress. It wasn't easy at all to get there. Climbing her Dad's window quietly was probably harder than walking in the Arctic for five minutes. But at least she got there.

 _"Ver-El."_ Jor-El's voice echoed. _"What do you desire?"_

"I want to go home."

 _"I've told you before. Your duty is to discover why you have been sent here."_

"And there's nothing you can do to help me?"

They were silent for a few moments.

 _"I assume I can do something to help you."_

"Great!" She exclaimed. "What are you waiting for?"

 _"What I'm going to do was not in my plans, but I have faith that he'll be able to adjust."_

"Wait. Who's 'he'?"

Jor-El kept quiet and the crystals in the Fortress began to glow. Avery covered her eyes because of the blinding light.

"Jor-El! What's going on?" She demanded to know, but Jor-El still didn't say anything. The light shone brighter for a second and then it was gone. There was a familiar face standing where the bright light once was. Approaching to make sure she wasn't seeing things, Avery narrowed her eyes trying to see clearer.

"Ave, where have you been? We've been looking for you forever." The familiar face came crashing into her, giving her the tightest of hugs.

"Parker."


	11. Perspective

**Chapter 11: Perspective**

"Avery! Are you in here?" Clark finally got to the Fortress after running for what it felt like ages. He doesn't think he's ever ran so fast.

"I'm here." He heard her voice and a sudden wave of relief took over him. When he saw her, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, like Lois had told him to do earlier, and allowed all the terrible thoughts that passed through his mind when he realized she was gone to simply dissolve into nothing. She was here.

He walked towards her and knelt down on the snow so he could hug her tightly. When he had her in his arms,he could finally relax. His little girl was okay.

"Dad, we have another...situation." She told him and he let go of the hug to watch her face.

"What do you mean a 'situation'?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey, Dad." He heard an unfamiliar voice call from behind him. He stood up and turned around quickly to see a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy. And that boy, who looked remarkably like him, was calling him 'Dad'. That was definitely a 'situation'.

"You're Parker." Clark stated, his words echoing in the cold Fortress. That meant he was meeting another kid of his. Who was also from the future. Could his life get any crazier.

"Yeah, Avery filled me in on the details, we're not in 2018 anymore, Jor-El wants us to figure out some kind of responsability we have that will get us home again." The young boy said and smiled. That was his smile. This was kind of freaking him out.

"Is the other one on his way as well?" Clark had to ask, he didn't want anymore surprises.

"No, Nathan is still pretty young, I don't think Jor-El would send him here. Yet." Avery answered thoughtfully. Yet. Great, maybe in a few years he would wake up and find an even younger boy who also had his eyes and smile.

"We should go home. It's late and they're all worried sick about you, Avery." As soon as Clark said it, his flabbergasted state was thrown away and he was now in a mission. He crossed his arms and looked directly at Avery. "By the way, young lady...Care to explain to me why in the world would you do this to us? Didn't you think we'd notice when you were gone?"

"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly. "I just wanted to make sure Jor-El didn't leave anything out the first time we had been here because you were here. Maybe he didn't want to reveal something to you. But I was wrong, he had nothing to reveal. And now he brought Parker here. Maybe things have gotten even worse."

"Or I could help with the solution. You told me Jor-El said he was going to help you and all of the sudden I was here. He clearly thinks I'm here to help." Parker defended himself and Avery looked at him like he was crazy.

"Ok, the only thing that we're doing right now is going home and getting some sleep. Tomorrow we can think about what Jor-El means."

 **IIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _Kent Farm, a couple of minutes later_**

"Guys? We're back. I found her." Clark called out as he opened the front door. He, Avery and Parker got in the house and were inspected by the worried eyes of his Dad, Mom and Lois.

"Where the hell did you vanish to?" Lois asked as she approached. He wasn't sure if he was talking to Avery or to him, but assumed she meant to ask to both of them eventually, so it didn't really matter.

"I went to get Avery and I found Parker." He nodded to his son. That felt just as weird as the first time he acknowledged Avery as his daughter. They all looked at Parked who smiled and muttered a shy "hi".

"Oh God, is this you as a kid?" Lois asked as she watched Parker and he held back a chuckle. He was only thinking that a few minutes ago...

"Nope, more like part of me from the future." He answered.

"As I've told you before, Parker is my twin brother and he was sent here because...we don't really know why, he just came out from a weird light thing. It was really weird." Avery explained and scratched her head.

"This is getting more interesting by the minute." Lois commented.

 **IIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _The morning after_**

"Ok, we need to go shopping." Lois said as she went through the closet on his bedroom.

"I'm not buying clothes just because you don't like plaid, Lois." Clark rolled his eyes and closed the closet's door, making Lois look up at him.

"I'm not going to go shopping for you, farmboy. You have two kids who apparently aren't going anywhere anytime soon and they have zero clothes. Avery has been wearing the same jeans for a week. And Parker doesn't have anything other than what he is currently wearing." She stated matter-of-factly.

He thought for a few moments and sighed.

"Ok, maybe you're right. I'll tell Mom that she has something today. She hates how quiet Sundays are." Clark turned around to leave, but Lois put herself in front of him and started talking.

"Oh no you won't, mister. Your Mom has her hands full with dinner for seven since Chloe is coming over and Parker has appeared out of dust." She told him and leaned in, he wondered if it was meant to make him feel threatened. It wasn't, it was doing the opposite, actually. "So, it's me, you and your twins who look nothing like each other." She gave him a fake smile. "And for your information..." She leaned in even closer and he dared to smile. "...You're only included because we need someone to carry the bags."

 **IIIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _Metropolis Mall, 2PM_**

Clark asked his Mom for an early lunch so he, Lois and the kids could go to Metropolis in the afternoon and have time to get home for dinner. So, there they were, at the first store that sold clothes for kids in one of the largest mall of Metropolis.

"So, what is your style, Parker?" Lois asked his son.

"I don't really have one, I think." Parker shrugged his shoulders. "I just wear what people buy me."

Lois and Avery shooked their heads in disappointment and he looked down at Parker, who was as confused as him. Parker's answer seemed reasonable enough for him, why weren't the girls approving it?

"That's not the answer I want, Parker." Lois said seriously and crossed her arms. "You see, everyone has a style, you see your Dad. He's got the farmboy thing going on, which is totally his and it fits him, sometimes."

"Sometimes? What does that mean?" He asked, but was completely ignored.

"So when somebody asks you what is your style, you need to tell them anything that will help them understand what you're all about." Lois explained and Parker just nodded a little confused. "Great, then let's try again. What's your style?"

"Uhh..." Parker thought, looked up at him for help, but he just shrugged his shoulders, he didn't know the first thing about style apparently since his only worked 'sometimes'. "Blue?"

He watched as Lois sighed and Avery rolled her eyes.

"How could I ever be related to you?" His daughter asked and he chuckled to himself. She really was somethin'.

"Just let me handle, Parker. I'll get you nice clothes not plaid related." Lois told Parker and he rolled his eyes.

"Another joke about plaid, Lois? Don't you have anything better in your arsenal?" He challenged and watched amused as her eyes shot daggers.

"I do, but I don't think you'd be able to handle." She joked and he smirked, forgetting for a while that they weren't alone.

"Can we go now?" Avery asked impatiently. Lois smiled down to her.

"Let's go. Just you and me though, the boys don't know the first thing about clothes." Lois stated and grabbed Avery's hand.

"What are we supposed to do while you get the clothes?" He asked after scoffing at Lois' comment.

"I don't know. Buy kids' toothpaste or something."

"Yeah, I like the one that tastes like strawberry." Avery added and she and Lois left to buy the clothes.

"Just you and me now, buddy." He elbowed Parker playfully. The boy grinned up at him, seemingly satisfied.

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

"I like this one." Avery pointed at a blue jeans jacket. Lois followed her gaze and found the jacket. After checking the price, she grabbed it and they resumed their walking around, looking for clothes.

"So, Avery..." Lois started while checking out another jacket, this time for Parker. "What do you think you'd be doing if you were in 2018 right now?"

"Probably playing with Krypto. Or maybe annoying Thomas. Definitely being annoyed by Nate." Avery shrugged.

"I can't believe it." Lois laughed heartily. "Clark really named his next dog Krypto?"

"Oh yeah, you guys talk about that all the time. Shelby's still at the farm, so Dad got us a new dog for our house in Metropolis." Avery explained taking a look in the pants section. She grabbed one and gave Lois, waiting for her approval. Lois nodded and took the pants from Avery to put in their cart.

"You guys live in Metropolis? That's a surprise. I thought Smallville would stick to...Smallville." Lois grinned at her own joke.

"Dad works in Metropolis and me and my brothers go to school there, so we live there. We spend most weekends at the Farm though." Avery said. "In the future, Dad and Grandpa built a new bedroom for me and the boys."

"That must be fun."

"To be honest, they're too slow for me sometimes." Avery frowned like she genuinely didn't understand why she thought such thing. "Parker is like...broody." At that, Lois burst out laughing. Avery smiled at the laughter even though she didn't quite understand why they were laughing. "And Nathan is a mix between brooding and cheerfulness, which confuses me most of the time."

"Honestly, Avery, I think everybody's too slow for you."

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

"Avery said she liked the strawberry one." Clark mentioned looking at the many kid's toothpaste at the shelf of the store.

"Yeah, but at home we use the grape one. Nathan and I like that one better." Parker shrugged.

"We can take both of them, it's not expensive anyways." Clark offered and took both -- the grape one and the strawberry one -- on his large hands.

"Ok, now we need toothbrushes." Parker said and looked around. They found the toothbrushes and paid for everything.

"I got a text from Lois saying they'll meet us at the restaurant across the street in an hour." Clark informed Parker. The boy sighed.

"Only an hour? Why are they taking so long to pick out clothes?" Parker asked confused.

"Women." Clark shrugged. "Tell you what..." Clark briefly played with Parker's hair to get his attention. The boy looked up expectantly. "Why don't we go to the restaurant and wait for the girls while we eat some fries?" Clark must've said something right, because the boy's bright blue eyes brightened further and he grinned wildly.

He found himself grinning back and wondering how could he deserve such wonderful kids. He couldn't wait for time to pass so he could actually have them for real, and not temporarily.

 ** _At the Restaurant, 1 hour and 30 minutes later_**

Clark and Parker had finished eating their fries for about 40 minutes and were still waiting in the restaurant. Clark decided he wanted to know as much about his kids while he still had them, but getting Parker to talk is harder than it is with Avery. Actually, he didn't need to get Avery to talk, she'd do it naturally. But Parker was much quieter. He wasn't shy, but he was guarded.

"Avery told me you guys are twins. How's that like?" Clark decided to approach a simple topic, hoping he'd cheer up. The boy definitely didn't like waiting.

"It doesn't change much from having a regular brother. Nathan is the same to me as Avery, but Avery's loud and talks for hours, Nathan only annoys me casually." Clark laughed at his answer.

"I've always wanted a brother or sister." Clark commented with a faraway mind. He had Lex for a while, but Clark doesn't know how much of their friendship was real, much less their brotherhood. He also had--

"You had Ryan." Parker said, completing Clark's thoughts. His son must have realized his surprise, because he soon began to explain. "You talk about him sometimes. So does grandma and grandpa." Parker showed the back of the silver necklace Clark didn't even realize he was wearing. He noticed it was identical to the one Avery has. In the back of it, were carved three letters _. 'P. R. K.'_

"Parker Ryan Kent." Clark whispered what intuition said when he laid eyes on the silver initials. He cleared his throat and before he could say anything else, he saw familiar faces approaching.

"Daddy, I want a really big burger. I'm starving." Avery sat by the table, followed by Lois.

"You guys took forever!" Parker complained.

"We had to make some others stops on different stores." Lois explained as she put the shopping bags beside the table where nobody would trip on them accidentally. "Chloe called me saying we were invited for some kind of fancy party her boyfriend is organizing. I didn't even know she was dating, did you?" She directed the question to Clark.

Clark denied shooking his head. "Chloe and I didn't talk much before you...came back."

Lois raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at him for a second. He knew she would bring up the subject later, but for now he was thankful she let it go. That was a way more complicated conversation that he didn't plan to have.

"Anyways, she said there's this party Saturday night and that we were all invited. Including your parents and the kids." She explained. "Apparently she had called your Mom earlier to tell her the time she would arrive at the farm for dinner and found out we were shopping. So she called me so I could use the opportunity to get us the appropriate clothes we need to the party."

"You got clothes for everybody?" Clark asked a bit scared. He hoped to God she didn't get ridiculous clothes to him as a joke.

"Kind of. I got mine, Avery's and your Mom's. But when it comes to tuxedos, you have to rent so you can spend less. And I didn't know your father's size nor Parker's, and since I would rent yours in the same store, I decided to wait. You can take your Dad and Parker tomorrow so you guys can try the suits on." She sipped the soda from his glass before he could argue.

"And how do you know my size anyways?"

She smirked mischievously as soon as he asked. "Do I have to remind you of our first meeting?"

He felt his cheeks burn as memories flooded his mind.

"That's not quite what I meant..."

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

 **Kent Farm**

 **Dinner**

"Wow, there's a lot of bags!" His Mom chuckled as he opened the door with the bags in hands.

"Yes, and I'm carrying all of them." He rolled his eyes as Lois entered the house with the kids, empty handed.

"I was taking care of your kids while you carried the bags, Smallville. Quit complaining."

After the restaurant, they called Chloe and asked if she wanted a ride to the farm after work since they were already in Metropolis and could easily pick her up. She agreed and they all came home together on a three hour drive.

"Well, I hope you're all hungry because there's a lot of food."

After setting the table, they all sat down to eat and Clark noticed that Chloe looked a bit off. More like less attentive. He was going to ask if everything was okay, but Lois beat him to it.

"Hey, Chlo?" She called out. "Are you with us?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. It was just a long day, I'm tired." She smiled at them for reassurance.

"Ok, then." Lois let it go, but he could see in her face that she didn't quite believe Chloe. He didn't too, there was something going on. "But tell us more about this party that your mysterious boyfriend who I know nothing about will throw." Lois asked with a innocent smile and Chloe chuckled while he rolled his eyes.

"It's actually a charity event to raise money for the Police Department of Metropolis. Like you probably know, there's a serial killer in town and the money will be directed to the resources necessary to find him as fast as possible."

"Wow, he must know a lot of powerful people. Is he rich or something?" Lois asked and Avery chuckled. They all looked at Avery at the same time, waiting for an explanation.

"He must be rich 'cause he always gives us the best presents." Avery commented and Parker agreed.

Lois gasped comically. "The wonder twins know who your boyfriend is and I don't?!"

"Lois, they're from the future. They probably know more people than we do." Clark reasoned.

"Fine, at least tell me since when you guys are dating and then give me name, address, age, backstory, criminal record--"

"Lois!" Chloe laughed at her cousin's absurdity. "You'll meet him at the party Saturday." She argued back and Lois sighed, giving up. "It's thursday already, so you'll get to ask him those questions yourself."

"You're gonna let me ask him anything I want?" Lois asked surprised. "Things must be serious."

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

"Hey, Clark" Chloe called him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She nodded to the front door and he understood she wanted privacy.

"Sure." He stood up and followed Chloe outside. He closed the front door after going through it and watched as Chloe hugged herself because of the cold even though she was wearing a winter coat. "What's up?" He asked.

"I've been putting things in perspective lately." She looked into the landscape between the farm land and the starred sky.

"Ok...What kind of things?" He asked carefully.

"Things about life in general. I've recently found out something, and that added up with Lois coming back and it made me think things through, things I've done and things I've said to you in the last four years...I wanted to apologize for some of that." Before she could finish, Clark shooked his head firmly.

"Chloe, if there's someone who needs to apologize, it's me. Your anger wasn't misplaced nor unnecessary. I hurt people with...what I did, and I deserved that kind of treatment." He told her determined.

"That's the thing about what you did, Clark..." She looked into his eyes for the first time since they left the house. "It hurt a lot of people, but somehow you were the one who hurt the most." She held his gaze as if she was looking for something. He swallowed dryly when he considered her words.

"Chloe, you're her family--"

"No, don't get me wrong. I was completely crushed, and in the inicial months, I didn't think I was going to make it, didn't think I'd be able to move on. But then the first year passed and I got a job at the Daily Planet, and I thought maybe I would get back on track." Chloe explained emotionally, her eyes gradually becoming teary. "But everything still reminded me of her. And coming back to Smallville was horrible, coming to the farm even worse. But seeing you reminded me of her the most. And I hated you for it." Chloe laughed bitterly. "Everytime I'd look at you I would remember you telling me about what you did. It didn't matter to me if you didn't mean it or how many times you said you were sorry, I just wanted you out of my sight so I could move on."

"I don't understand..." Clark started. He really didn't. He thought Chloe was apologizing, but now she was saying all those things...

"I just want you to understand my side of the story." She said. "My point is that I never really stopped to think about your pain because I was too busy thinking about mine."

"But how could you think about my pain, Chloe? Does it even compare?" He asked and she smiled weakly, but softly.

"It does." She whispered loud enough for him to hear without his powers. "I'm her family and I've suffered because she was taken from me. But you were her friend and you had taken her from yourself. It does compare."

Clark ran a hand through his hair as he considered everything Chloe was telling him.

"I just want you to know that I forgive you." She told him. "And I think it's time you forgive yourself."

"It doesn't matter if I forgive myself or not, Chloe." He looked in the front door's direction and suddenly, without being able to control, his x-ray vision powered up and he saw Lois laughing about something Avery had just said. Parker was clutching his stomach from the laughter and that made Lois laugh even harder. He let out a smile, temporarily forgetting their topic of conversation and then, as he remembered, his smile fell. "I just want _her_ to forgive me."

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

 ** _11:30 PM_**

 ** _Clark's bedroom_**

Chloe entered the room with a heavy sigh. She just had a really intense conversation with Clark. Clark has always been intense, but he had became more so since Lois' death. Guilt must've eaten him alive. She cursed herself for not realizing before and helped him overcome it.

"Hey, Chlo." Lois got into the bedroom dressed in her pajamas. Chloe had asked the Kents to spend the night because it was too late to drive back to Metropolis. They had agreed gladly and suggested Clark's bedroom for both Lois and Chloe. Parker and Avery ended up sleeping at the living room and Clark went to the cold loft. Poor thing was already crushed from their conversation and still had to sleep in the loft because of her.

"Are the kids out?" She asked Lois.

"Completely. Apparently the both of them had a competition going on to see who would be the last one to sleep. Parker won. When Avery wakes up she'll be mad." Lois laughed and Chloe followed.

"They're great kids." Chloe commented. "And they're dealing with this situation better than us, it's quite impressive."

"Yeah, they're great." Lois sat down on the bed next to Chloe. "I was meaning to talk to you about something else though."

"Yeah?" Chloe asked during a yawn. She was really, really tired.

"I saw you going outside to talk to Clark and it reminded me of something he said to me in the afternoon."

"And what's that?" Chloe asked a bit more attentive, fighting off tiredness.

"He said that after my little death-resurrection-disappearance thing, you guys didn't talk much." Lois turned to her. "And that got me thinking. I mean, if someone I cared about had just died, I'd turn to my bestfriend."

"I see where you're going, Lo." She told her with a smile. "But it's not my secret to tell."

"So there really is a secret?" Lois raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but don't ask him about it. You know Clark, the more you ask, the more he closes off." Chloe advised.

"I didn't plan on doing it." Lois told her honestly. "But it doesn't stop me from wondering."

"I know it doesn't."

"You know what else I wonder about?" Lois asked after Chloe laid her head on the bedpost.

"Yes, I do know. And you were right, it is serious." Chloe opened her eyes that had been closed because of the comfortable position. She breathed in deeply. It was now or never. "It's actually more serious than you think."

"See, that's why I want to meet this boyfriend of yours as fast as I can. Next thing I know you're getting married and I haven't met him. Or even worse, you're pregnant and I haven't met him yet." Lois laughed at her own joke because she knew she was being overly dramatic.

Chloe, who was suddenly wide awake, didn't laugh.

"Actually, Lois..." Chloe started and Lois turned to her in a speed Clark would be jealous of.

"You got married?!" Lois asked loudly with her eyes widened, and Chloe shushed her.

"I didn't get married, geez." Chloe rolled her eyes. "It's the other thing."

"What other thing? I only mentioned getting married and-- Oh." Lois was suddenly quiet. "Oh." She repeated.

"Yeah." Chloe laughed nervously. "I said the same thing when the doctor told me."


	12. Peaceful

**Author's Notes: Hey, guys. I'm so sorry for making you wait so long. I'm not sure how many people there are reading this, but now I finally got some time and quarantine hit me with the desire to write again. I can't promise quick uploads, nor constant ones, but I promise I'll try to post as quickly as my inspiration and time allow me to.**

 **For those of you who don't like Chloe and Oliver pairing, I'm sorry, it's going to have some of it. Not on Lois+Clark level, of course, because this is a Clois story after all, but it's going to have a considerable amount of it. If you don't like them, maybe you'll be able to ignore it and just stay for Clois, but if you are unable to do so, I'm sorry and if you really want, I can write some Clois featuring Chloe+Jimmy (I like them too, I just prefer Oliver). Anyways, that's it.**

 **Be safe and stay at home :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville nor its characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Peaceful**

 _ **January 23rd, 2010**_

Saturday came faster than expected for Clark. He assumed that when you're living with two six year old kids, time flies impressively fast. Avery and Parker were a challenge together, especially if they were arguing, which happened often. He never really had a sibling, so he didn't know how those interactions worked very well, he was slowly figuring it out how to deal with both of them, together or separately.

Fortunately, this was the day he'd get some kind of distraction that wasn't kid based. Or maybe not that fortunately, because he was currently wearing a tuxedo, and he hated those. It was really uncomfortable around the neck area, but if he didn't wear it, Lois would murder him, and he would rather stay alive.

Lois went to Metropolis a week earlier, when Chloe left to stay with her boyfriend, Oliver Queen. He still was pretty shocked that her boyfriend was one of the wealthiest men on the planet, and even more shocked about that fact that she is pregnant with that same billionaire's baby. Chloe was having a baby soon and he just couldn't wrap his head around that fact. Indeed, he was the one living with his future kids for the last week, but still, things were pretty unbelievable lately. According to Lois' call from the day before, when she went to a doctor appointment with her cousin because Oliver had to leave town for business, Chloe was 20 weeks pregnant. Lois asked Clark how many months that was because, in her words, she was too tired to count. He answered it was approximately 4 months and a half. Which meant the baby was due to the month of May.

"Daddy, what do you think?" His thoughts were interrupted by Avery's voice. He turned and found her at the base of the stairs. He grinned.

"You look like a princess." He answered and she smiled. She was wearing the dress Lois bought her when they went shopping a week ago. It was light blue, like her matching shoes. She looked absolutely adorable. "Did grandma help you dress up?"

"Yeah, she told me to tell you that she'll be down in 5 minutes." She said and climbed on the couch to wait. He sat next to her and waited. His dad took Parker for a walk while they waited for the girls to finish up, so as soon as his mom came down, they'd leave for the party.

They waited 5 minutes, but his mom still didn't come down. Typical, his father would've said. He smiled but it soon fell as he became aware of the silence.

"Are you okay, Avery?" He asked and she raised his head, confused. "You're quiet." She really was. Normally, he'd be listening to her ramble on about something completely random.

"Yeah, I just miss...home." She answered with sad eyes and something pulled in his heart. He sighed and thought about what would be the right thing to say. "It's fun here, but it's not the same."

"I wish I could take you home, Avery." He told her the only thing he could think.

"I know, me too. But this is one of Jor-El's tests, whatever it is that he calls it." She said and he nodded, still thinking about something useful that he could say to make her feel better.

"You did say that 'Future Me' said that all you had to do was wait, right?"

"That's the problem." She rolled her eyes and he felt a wave of relief from seeing a glimpse of her normal behaviour. "I really don't like waiting."

He chuckled and grabbed one of her hands, holding carefully and resting their joined hands on his knee.

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

The ballroom was beautiful and elegant, the decoration was mostly white, some touches of silver here and there. Clark looked around, looking for familiar faces in the crowd and thankfully didn't take him too long to spot two blondes talking cheerfully. He had never seen Oliver in person, but judging by the way Chloe was glowing in a green dress, leaning against the tall, blonde man beside her, he assumed that was him. He told the kids to sit by the table reserved for the Kents and his father offered to keep them company. He and his mom went directly to Chloe and Oliver to greet them properly.

"Hi, guys!" Chloe greeted them as soon as she saw them. He smiled down at her and briefly hugged her. His mom did the same. "This is Oliver. Ollie, this is Clark and his mom, Martha."

Clark and Oliver shook hands shortly and the four of them easily fell into an easy conversation. Oliver was very charismatic and, when the situation required, he knew how to joke around and throw a bit of sarcasm into the conversation. From Clark's point of view, he seemed like a really nice guy until now. And judging by the happiness in Chloe's face, he told his usual distrust when it came to strangers that it wasn't welcome this time.

He looked around again mid-conversation searching for another specific familiar face. He spotted her talking to Avery, Parker and his dad. She had her back to him and all he could see was skin due to a backless dark blue dress. When he took his eyes off her, he turned to his mom and the couple and excused himself. When he left they were still talking excitedly, probably about the baby, and he doubted they noticed that he was gone.

As he slowly moved towards their table, he watched as Parker and Avery laughed at something Lois said and couldn't help but smile. It was always like this. Whenever she was around they cheered up. Avery was down for the whole drive and Parker wasn't much better. It was like he sensed and knew what his sister was thinking, like he was feeling the same thing, missing their home just as much. Now, it was all gone. They were sporting wide grins and only in the last minute, the time he began watching them, they had burst out laughing at least twice. He wondered why Lois had that effect on so many people, including him. Maybe it's one of the things that he didn't mind not knowing the answer to, feeling it was more than enough for him.

As he fully approached them, they became aware of his presence.

"Hey, dad." Parker said, his smile still stretching his freckles, his blue eyes sparkling. "She was telling us about when she made you fall into a dunk tank." Parker laughed harder. "She said you screamed."

He gasped before he could stop himself.

"I didn't scream." He told them and then turned to Lois. She finally did the same and the sparkle in her eyes, her smile and her lips covered in red stopped him from trying to defend his honor any further. He only watched as she winked at him, silently saying she knew and remembered that he didn't scream when he fell into the cold water, but she didn't care.

"You did. Really loudly." She said. "But don't worry, they won't tell anybody." She turned to the kids again and he sighed silently. "Will you?"

"Secret's safe." Avery answered, drying her eyes from the laughter.

"Well, don't count me in." His father said. "I'm telling your mother." And he got up, meaning to meet his mom where she was still talking to Oliver and Chloe.

"I didn't sc―" He tried, but his dad was already far away. He turned to the kids and Lois again. "I didn't scream."

"You do realize that 'I didn't scream' was the only thing you've said since you got here, right?" Lois asked with a smile and he rolled his eyes. She was right, he was reduced to saying the same things three times and still having them not believing him. Maybe Lois was the one with powers.

"It's nice seeing you too, Lois." He said and sat down next to Parker. Lois decided to do the same, sitting next to Avery.

"I see you didn't disappoint me and came wearing any of your favorite primary colors." She told him with a smile. "I swear, next time we meet I'll mistake you for a giant smurf from so much blue you wear."

"What's wrong with blue? You're wearing blue from head to toe." He argued back.

"You're wrong, I'm wearing black as well." She said with a serene look on her face that made him raise an eyebrow. And he was pretty sure she was only wearing blue, since her shoes were the color of the dress.

"Oh yeah? Where's the black?" He asked, fixing his face with a challenging expression. She was quiet for a second, like she was waiting for him to figure it out. When she smirked at him and her eyes glowed mischievously and he finally understood what she meant, his throat dried up and he mentaly begged his cheeks to stick to their natural color and don't turn as red as her lipstick.

"So, kids…" She started loudly, as if trying to remind him that there were children there. "Did you do something fun this week?"

"We rode horses yesterday, that was pretty cool." Parker answered and Clark smiled at the memory. It really was fun, and Parker really loved it. Avery on the other handー

"It wasn't _that_ fun." She argued. Parker looked at her as if he was deeply offended.

"Yes it was, you just were too afraid." It was Avery's turn to look utterly insulted.

"No, I wasn't." She said. "It just wasn't fun."

Parker was ready to argue back, his face showing a determination that he wasn't used to seeing, he was always really gentle and calm. Until he began arguing with Avery. Then he was transformed into a passionate, determined and stubborn little boy.

Before said little boy could throw an argument, Oliver Queen's voice was heard through a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen." He started. "I want to thank you for all your kind donations to our funds. The Police Department is going to need all the help they can get to stop the person who is terrorizing Metropolis. I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the four victims and let's all help the way we can." Oliver raised his glass. "Have fun tonight." There were claps, but he was already off stage. Music began playing and some people tentatively went to the center of the ballroom to dance. Seconds later, there were at least 30 people dancing to the cheerful song.

"Hey." He heard his mom say as she and his dad approached the table. "Go dance, you two, we'll stay with the kids." Clark was already set to deny, he wasn't much of a dancer, actually he wasn't a dancer at all. "And before you say no…" His mom started, like she had read his thoughts. "...Chloe kind of ordered you two to go. She won't take no for an answer. Something about the last time she'll be able to dance 'before the baby turns her into a huge whale'. I think those were her words." His mom chuckled and he sighed. He watched Lois rolling her eyes at Chloe's drama, but getting up from her seat anyways.

"Let's go, Smallville." She said, finishing her drink quickly. "Don't want to leave her waiting, she's been awfully moody these days." She smiled and turned to walk towards the center of the room. He sighed, but followed her.

As soon as they got to the center of the room, the music slowed down and couples met for a slow dance. Great. Just what he needed. He looked over at Lois and tried to play it cool.

"I can't see Chloe and Oliver." He said.

"I see them." She said, a slight grimace on her face. "I wish I didn't though." At his raised eyebrow she nodded in a dark hallway's direction. He checked it out from afar only to find Chloe and Oliver in some kind of passionate embrace, kissing like they haven't seen each other in years. His eyes widened and he turned back to Lois, who was now chuckling at his reaction.

"How did you even find them there? It's pretty hidden." He asked, curiously. He could see it easily, but he was a super powered alien.

"I've gotten good at finding good hiding spots." She answered with a shrug of shoulders. His mind quickly took him into a guilt trip, telling him it was his fault she had to go through what she did. He tried to push it back, he didn't need that right now.

"Well," Lois started looking around. All those people slow dancing. They were in the middle of the crowd, hidden from anyone who looked from the tables or even the hidden spots that Chloe and Oliver were currently making the most of. "we're already here, we might as well dance to a couple of songs."

His head tilted a little. He wasn't sure what he expected her to say, but it wasn't _that_.

"Really?" He couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Sure." She said nonchalantly. "Do you prefer to sit through the whole event?" She said as she walked towards him. He didn't move an inch as she placed each of her hands on his shoulders, and then slid them until they locked themselves behind his neck. Only then he remembered she had asked a question.

"You're right." He answered, placing his hands on each side of her waist. They started to slowly sway back and forth.

"So, how has life as a father been treating you?" She asked and he smiled, relaxed now.

"Good, generally speaking." He started. "It's really fun to have them around, but it's really scary to have someone depend so much on you."

"It must be pretty unbelievable, though. They're from the future." She whispered the last part.

"Yeah, it's crazy. Sometimes I think it's some weird dream that I can't wake up from." He confessed. If it was a dream, he wished he didn't wake up. He would miss Parker and Avery too much.

"If it was a dream, I wouldn't be here." She said and continued when his brow furrowed in confusion. "You said that Avery was the one that told you where to find me. I'm not sure if I would be back by now if you guys hadn't met me in New York."

"You weren't planning on coming back?" He asked, something in his chest tightening.

"Eventually I'd be back, I'm sure." She explained. "But I think it would take longer. Maybe by February, maybe March."

"Why?" He asked. "Why wait so long?"

"When I was out there, alone, Damian James let me know several times, loud and clear, that that's how he wanted me to stay; alone." He watched as her expression slowly went from relaxed to distant. His body suddenly felt heavier than ever, but he didn't stop swaying to the rhythm of the song. "He always seemed to be one step forward, like he knew where I was going next constantly. That's why whenever he said he'd haunt down the people I contacted, I believed him." Her eyes were focused on his black bowtie. "So I never called. Anyone. I never sent any letters, not even the slightest of signs I was alive. If I was dead, nobody would look for me, and it was better that way. When I came back, I thought I'd wait a little, see if he would stay in jail, just to make sure that he wouldn't after any of you."

He looked down at her, but she still wasn't looking at him. She wasn't avoiding him, she was just lost in memories. Blankly trying to process everything she had to go through, Clark's jaw twitched and he sighed deeply.

"I looked for you." He revealed. She finally raised her head and met his eyes. Her head tilted and her brow furrowed, not quite understanding what he meant. "We were all sure that you were dead, but for some reason, in the first months, I looked for you."

"Why?"

"I don't know." He answered. "You had a tombstone carved with your name, you had a grieving family, and a trashed car, but I still went for late night...drives" He stopped himself from saying runs. "And looked around. At first I told myself it was just because I couldn't sleep. After two months of doing it, I finally got in touch with myself again and realized I was looking for you every time I got out of the house in the middle of the night. When I figured it out, I stopped doing it."

They were silent for a moment, both processing the information they shared with each other. The song that was originally playing ended, but another similar one started playing immediately. They didn't miss a beat.

"You didn't brood too much, did you?" She asked with a smile. He knew what she was doing. Things went down to a depressing level, and she needed to get out of it. He was thankful for it, he wasn't in the mood to be depressed either.

"Can't say I didn't." He answered, allowing a more relaxed vibe to fall between them again.

"That's disappointing. That is the greatest of your many flaws." She told him with a smirk. He raised one disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"That was offensive, apologize." He said and she threw her head back when she burst out laughing. It was really hard not to laugh along, but he held it together to play the part. "I'm serious, Lois."

"Yeah, right." She said, a smile still tugging at her lips, drawing his attention. "Like I'd ever apologize to you."

"That was even more offensive." He said, one of his hands leaving her waist to rest above his heart, pretending to be deeply insulted.

"Deal with it." She told him and he smiled, finally allowing himself. "Let's get a drink, my feet hurt already."

He agreed and his hand automatically went from her waist to the small of her back, meaning to guide her way through the crowd. His gaze immediately snapped to his hand when it met her skin. The backless thing was still getting to him. She kept slowly walking between the many people, but glanced over her shoulder, one perfect eyebrow slightly raised. His first instinct would be to remove his hand and pretend nothing happened, but for some reason he found the strength to suppress it and left his hand there. She didn't say anything and kept going.

When they got to the bar, they sat on the stool and each ordered their drink. The bartender got both of them in less than a minute and they sipped in silence.

Until he heard Lois silently chuckling to herself and raised an eyebrow, amused.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I'm just remembering your profound despair when I told the kids and your dad that you screamed when I dunked you." She said, a wide grin on her face. He rolled his eyes.

"There was no despair, I was just worried because they were getting a version of the story filled with lies." He argued and sipped his drink.

"Please, I'm pretty sure you screamed. Maybe it wasn't as loud as I was telling them, but you did."

"I did not, and you know it."

"I can't remember your version of the story. I only remember mine, therefore that's the one I'm telling people." She smiled innocently and he sighed exasperatedly. A memory crossed his mind and he smiled mischievously.

"You do that and I tell them that story about you, me and a strip club." He told her and watched as her eyes narrowed in his direction.

"You're unable to tell that story without blushing from head to toe. It would embarrass you more than it would me." She tried.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" He said, making sure a mysterious expression crossed his face. She narrowed her eyes again, suspicious.

"Let's just agree to continue to keep each other's secrets." She said and he smiled.

"Hmm, now you change your mind, huh?" He provoked. She rolled her eyes behind her glass. "Don't worry, Lois. At least you danced well." He said, expecting her to drop the subject. She didn't, she just stared at him with a smirk.

"Oh, you're saying you liked it?" She asked jokingly, but he was thankful he had already swallowed his drink, or it wouldn't have been a pretty scene.

"W-what?"

"The dance, specifically the lap daー" He interrupted her before she could finish:

"Ok, ok, I get it. Thanks." He said, no eye contact. "And I was joking."

"Oh, so now you're saying I didn't dance well." Lois said. She was having way too much fun with this and he didn't like it.

"No, I'm notー" He interrupted himself with a roll of eyes and a frustrated sigh. "I was like, 18 or something. If I hadn't liked it I'd be worried about myself."

"And he admits it…" She says playfully. "You looked really uncomfortable, though. It was cute."

"Cute? Look, there were at least sixty people all over the place, there is no way someone can be comfortable with that." He defended himself and watched as she jumped out of the stool and stood as she finished her she did, she smiled at him.

"Alright, next time we do it without the crowd." She turned and pulled him by the arm, making him stand and walk with her. "Let's go to the table, your parents must be tired of babysitting."

"Yeah, we probaーWait, next time?"

* * *

At the end of the night, Lois came back to Smallville with them. Chloe said she'd be over the farm by dinner time the next day, so she had time to go to a doctor appointment with Oliver. His mom told Chloe she should bring Oliver for dinner and that both of them could spend the night. They all came to a mutual agreement and went their separate ways. Clark drove with Parker, Avery and Lois, while his parents drove by themselves in his dad truck.

And as Avery, Parker and Lois fell asleep after half an hour of driving, he was left with his thoughts. It was an interesting night, and as he looked over at the passenger seat, her peaceful face made him feel just as peaceful for the first time in more years than he could count. Maybe forever.


	13. Mess

**Author's Notes:** **Hey, I wanted to make a couple of things clear, that I forgot to say last chapter in my notes: I know some of you might not enjoy Avery and Parker as much as I do, and that's completely understandable considering they're my characters and, in my mind, they've already reached their full potential, which still hasn't happened in the story. And probably never will happen in this story, because from start to finish they're just kids. People only reach their full potential later in life, I'm sure you all can understand that. However, I ask for a little bit of patience from those who don't like them that much, or maybe you think they fight too much. All of you who have siblings know how it is impossible NOT to fight. Some pairs more than others. But, this is part of the reason why the story is named Synchrony, and there will be character development for every main character in the story, specially the kids. This chapter is the first one that there's a slight, tiny change in their relationship (Parker and Avery) and, if you pay close attention, you might notice it.**

 **Thank you for all the readers, for all the reviews and favorites. I write this for me, but I put it out here for you. Be safe, stay at home.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or any of its characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Mess**

 _ **January 24th, 2010**_

Dinner at the farm was more exciting than it usually is, even with the twins. Chloe and Oliver came over to dinner, as agreed in the previous night. When they got there, they were soon taken to the dinner table, where Avery and Parker were already patiently waiting for their respective plates. Well, Parker was waiting _patiently_.

As soon as they started eating, small talk was thrown around, until his mom excitedly asked Chloe how her doctor appointment went.

"It was great, everything's doing well and…" Chloe quickly glanced at Oliver who nodded, silently agreeing with whatever it was. "...we finally know the gender." She finished and he felt himself smiling when his mom gasped excited.

"I'm calling it, it's a boy." Lois said. "Before you tell us, let's all try to guess." She suggested.

"It's a girl." He said. He didn't really have an opinion, he just liked disagreeing with Lois. And her face when he did it. He smiled again. "What do you two think?" He asked his parents.

"I'm going with a girl, we need more of them." His mom answered.

"Boy?" His dad asked more than answered, like he had no idea. It was a 50-50 situation, after all.

"You two?" He asked Avery and Parker. The twins exchanged glances quickly and chuckled.

"Boy." They said in unison. He raised his eyebrows, and when Chloe and Oliver revealed, seconds later, that the baby was a boy, he wasn't surprised. After all, Avery and Parker's guess was one that came from the future. Chloe appeared like she was contemplating the same exact thing, probably wondering how she didn't realize before that the twins most definitely know her unborn son.

"We're really happy for you, Chloe." His mom started. "Do you two have any names in mind?" She asked and, this time, Chloe didn't look at Oliver's direction, she looked at the twins'.

"We haven't really put much thought into it…" She answered. "But I'm sure something will come up soon."

They fell into an easy conversation for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **8:00 PM**

Things were harder than she wanted to admit. Avery thought this would be a walk in the park when her parents told her she'd be sent to the past. She was excited even, the challenge was very welcomed. At first. Now, all she wanted was to get back to her family, and as much as she loved the farm, she wanted to go back to their house in Metropolis. Her school friends, her special friends, like she liked to call her Dad's Special Friends' kids. She missed Nathan the most. He was always following her around and, as much as she complained about it, she loved the fact that he enjoyed her company. She loved him. She loved Parker too, but he was so annoying sometimes, it made her angry.

She wasn't sure why, but she missed her parents as well. They were close, but at the same time far away. They weren't her parents, not yet. And it made a huge difference, she came to notice. She was sure Parker felt the same way, he was normally pretty quiet, but he was even quieter lately. Brooding, like she's heard her mom say a couple of times. Whenever her mom caught Parker or dad brooding, she'd figure out a way to get them out of it. Always. With time and a lot of observation, Avery was able to learn a few things about how to make the boys stop 'internally rationalizing', as his dad liked to call it. She was pretty good at it, but her mom was still the best.

And because of that, when she found Parker in her dad's old bedroom, staring at the floor, she knew she had to do something. Even if it was going to annoy him and, consequently, annoy her when he decided to fight back. Which he would. She didn't mind, as long as it worked.

"What are you doing?" She asked and let herself fall carelessly on the bed, making Parker's body move drastically due to the mattress' movement. "Let me guess, you're internally rationalizing." She said jokingly, she tickled his side with her index finger. He held her wrist and took her hand away from his body.

"I'm not brooding. Just thinking." He answered and she rolled her eyes. _Yeah, right._

"I needed to talk to you." She started. Her goal before was only to make him stop worrying so much, but now her own worries were coming back and she thought that it would be good to talk to him about it. "Maybe we should tell everybody the whole thing." She suggested. She was tired of having to think about every single sentence she'd say to make sure she wasn't revealing anything. She felt like she'd slip up at any moment.

"What do you mean?" Parker asked. "Like every detail from the future? We can't do that."

"I don't mean every detail, but maybe the most important things would help them to understand what's happening and maybe find a way out of this." She explained.

"We can't do that. You heard what dad said in 2018, we can't tell anybody anything important." He argued and she sighed. She figured he'd say that.

"Fine." She said, thwarted. Maybe, just maybe, he was right this time and she should listen to him for once.

"Fine?" He asked, confused. "You're not gonna fight me on this?"

She rolled her eyes and got up from the bed, directing herself to the bedroom door.

"I just want to go home."

* * *

 **10:00 PM**

The house was completely full. Oliver and Chloe were in the guest bedroom, his parents, obviously, were in their bedroom. So, he and Lois came to an agreement and ended up each taking one child with them. Lois and Avery got his bedroom and he and Parker got the living room. He made the couch as comfortable as possible for Parker and made himself a bed of sheets and blankets on the floor, next to the couch.

"Dad, are you awake?" He heard Parker asking and propped himself on one elbow, turning his body in the boy's direction.

"Yeah, do you need something?" He asked. Parker copied his position.

"Avery and I talked." The boy started and he raised an eyebrow.

"About what?"

"She said she wanted to tell you guys everything, from the future I mean. I told her no. She wasn't too happy about it. But I think I convinced her." Parker looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer to some kind of hidden question in what he said.

"Do you think you can't tell us because Future Me told you not to?" He asked, trying to understand what's in Parker's mind.

"Yes." He answered. "There are things we noticed you have no idea that will happen, and I think those are the ones we have to hide the most. But it's hard. I've almost called people names they aren't supposed to know about. I don't really know how to explain it." The boy sighed.

"You mean like Chloe's baby?" He asked, remembering the dinner they had.

"Not exactly, but that's part of it." He answered. "We know him, he's older than us, and we see him pretty much everyday. We go to the same school, play the same sports, have sleepovers all the time. All of us. And I miss it. Maybe if he was here he'd know what to do."

"I don't think anybody would know what to do in this situation, Parker." He said, honestly. "I'm sure I wouldn't."

The boy looked at him confused and surprised.

"But you always know what to do."

"I'm sure it might seem so in the future, but most of the time I'm completely clueless." He chuckled to himself dryly.

"Then what do you do?"

"I just do what I think it's right." He answered. "What do you think it's the right thing to do?"

Parker seemed deep in thought for a moment. Brows furrowed, eyes narrowed.

"I think we should listen to Future Dad and not say anything, but at the same time I don't know how we're supposed to do that."

Clark thought about it for a second. He imagined himself being sent to the past, before he arrived at his parents' life. Would he tell them everything? Could he? Even if it was to give some relief to their desperate attempts to have children and always fail some way? He didn't know, he had no answers. So, he said the only thing he knew for sure.

"No matter what happens, both me and Future Me will always love you and Avery. And I'll do everything in my power to help you fix this."

That seemed to do the trick, judging by the small smile on Parker's face. Soon, the boy was under the covers and his eyes slowly closing, while Clark still watched. When he heard Parker's heartbeat evening and he was sure the little boy was asleep, he got up from the improvised bed on the floor and walked towards the stairs. He also had a daughter he needed to reassure.

* * *

As he reached his bedroom, ready to knock on the door, it was opened by someone from the inside.

"Lois?" He said as she looked up at him. "Everything okay?" She glanced behind her, checking on something, and then left the bedroom completely, closing the door behind her.

"Avery's asleep." She said, almost whispering. "I couldn't, so I thought I'd get a drink or something." She told him and directed herself to the stairs. He followed her. Seconds later they were in the kitchen, being as quiet as possible not to wake Parker up.

His first intention was to talk to Avery, but he wouldn't wake her up. He could talk to her the next day. He wasn't that tired anyways, so he might as well make Lois some company.

"Did you want something?" She asked. He assumed she was talking about his visit to the bedroom.

"I was going to talk to Avery about something, but I can talk to her tomorrow." He answered as he took the milk jug out of her hands with a look that said 'just let me handle it or you'll find a way to make a mess out of it'. She rolled her eyes, somehow understanding it and stepped away from the stove. He waited for it to heat up as he watched her sit down on the stool.

"Must be important if you were hyped up at 10 pm. I know you like your sleep." She propped her chin on her hands like a child and he thought the position was strangely familiar, but couldn't place it in his memories.

"Nobody likes their sleep quite like you, Lois." He said with a smile. She didn't say anything. "What's up anyways?" He asked, suddenly remembering the reason why she was downstairs. "You said you couldn't sleep."

"Yeah." She straightened up her body and he raised an eyebrow. "I was just...thinking too much."

"Must be serious. You're not one to overthink."

"I'm not one to brood, you mean?" She hinted a smirk, but he could see something was wrong, so he didn't roll his eyes nor tried to think of a snarky comeback.

"Come on, talking about it usually helps." He suggested. "I'm all ears."

"It's a long story…" She tried to downplay it. He wasn't having it.

"I've got time." He said as he turned the stove off and poured two glasses of warm milk. He handed her one and sat on the stool next to her, turning his body to her.

She was thinking about how to neglect the question, he was sure. He wouldn't demand any answers of course, but he wasn't going to let her deal with it alone when he knew that she probably wanted help, she just wasn't very good at asking for it.

"Trust me..." He started. "...I can keep a secret." He smiled and watched as her head tilted slightly in surprise, like she couldn't imagine Clark Kent and the word 'secret' in the same sentence.

"Ok, but you'll have to promise not to go all Clark Overprotective Kent on me, like you do with everybody." She said and it was his turn to tilt his head and narrow his eyes.

"What did you do?" He asked before he could stop himself. She sighed in frustration.

"I haven't done anything, I just need you to know that this isn't as dangerous as it may seem at first." He restrained himself from saying anything else and nodded for her to continue. She took a deep breath. "I've been investigating Damian James."

"What?" Again, he wasn't able to stop himself. It was natural for him to worry, especially about her considering her history. And she just said she's been investigating the man who had enough power to chase her for four years and, on top of that, a murderer.

"Look, I had no choice. I needed to do something." She said. Their voices were still whispery due to Parker sleeping on the couch a few feet away.

"Why? Isn't he in prison already? Why mess with him any further? It might come with consequences, who knows what kind of power he still has outside." He argued. It was dangerous, but looking at her face he felt she already knew that. And she would do it anyway. He sighed.

"That's the problem." She started. "He's not exactly a prisoner yet. He's under custody waiting for the trial for weeks. I think he's doing something to put it off. Why would someone try to put off a trial unless they were trying to execute something shady that will make the judge declare him as innocent?"

He thought for a moment with a frown. If Damian James was released...that would be more dangerous than investigating him. Much more.

"So I looked into it." She continued. "And I contacted a Daily Planet reporter that wrote some articles about Damian, he agreed to meet me and give me some information." He raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"And how did you manage to do that?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I know him from the time that I used to visit Chloe when she worked at the Planet. He used to hang around." She answered with a shrug of shoulders. He narrowed her eyes, sensing there was more. She rolled her eyes again. "Ok, fine, we went out once." She admitted and his eyes widened slightly. "But it doesn't matter, what does matter is that I'm meeting him and depending on the information he provides me with, I can start a deeper investigation from there."

"And when is this...meeting?" He asked, his voice took an ironic tone that he hadn't planned.

"Tomorrow. At the Daily Planet." She answered. "Chloe and Oliver are here and probably are only going to come back to Metropolis by dinner time. He asked to meet before lunch, so I'll have to leave really early since they won't be able to give me a ride. Maybe you could say goodbye to your parents and the kids for me." She asked expectantly.

"Oh, I'm going with you." He said, determined. She looked at him like he was crazy. "Think about it. I can give you a ride because, you know, I have a car and you don'tー"

"That was mean."

"ーand I'm also a good addition when it comes to investigating. You have to admit it, I was Chloe's go to boy when it came to articles and I also saved you several times when we were in High School."

"I do not remember such a thing." She whispered loudly, offended. "I do remember, though, me saving your butt more times than you care to admit."

"Oh yeah? Let me go with you tomorrow and we'll see who saves who when you get in trouble. And trust me, you will."

"Just to be clear…" She started with a resigned expression. "I'm only accepting this because of the ride. Much better than the bus."

* * *

 _ **January 25th, 2010**_

They left in the early morning, when nobody was even thinking about waking up. Clark briefly woke Parker and Avery up to warn them they'd be going out for a while. After both kids nodded, still in bed, they immediately fell asleep again. They also left a note for everybody else, explaining Lois would be out for a couple days and that he would call later to let them know when he would be back.

During the ride, as expected, Lois fell asleep and he turned the radio louder to annoy her. He should've known it wouldn't make any difference, the woman probably listened to Whitesnake to fall asleep peacefully.

They ended up arriving in Metropolis earlier than expected. Traffic was almost nonexistent and in the small gaps of the ride that Lois was awake, she would always tell him to stop driving like a grandma and accelerate.

"What time is the meeting again?" He asked as they walked into a coffee shop.

"He texted me asking if I could make it at 10AM." She answered. They sat down at one of the booths and a waitress immediately came to get their orders. They ordered quickly and soon were sipping their coffee.

They fell into a comfortable silence and Clark found himself looking through the window of the coffee shop and contemplating the buildings. Some memories were still fresh on his mind, nights and nights when he would run around those streets, going up on buildings to search through the skyline for answers he still didn't have. Looking back at Lois, he found her eyes on the same window. He debated internally if he should do what his mind was telling him to do. When she caught him staring and asked what was wrong, he looked down at his wrist watch and got up.

"We have some time." He said, hoping she would accept what he had planned. "I wanna show you something, come with me?" He asked hopefully. He didn't know why, but he felt worry eat him up as she looked at him as if she was asking herself why he was acting strangely.

Maybe it was because he had never shown that place to anybody before, maybe it was because of what it meant to him. He didn't know exactly why, but he did know he would be very disappointed if she said no.

"Sure." She answered after long seconds. He forced a smile and quickly paid for their coffees. When they left the coffee shop, he guided her the way and they walked in silence for about 5 minutes, arriving at their destination soon. She followed him into a dark alley and he didn't give her the chance to see him swiftly breaking the lock of a door in said alley and opening it for her.

Before she passed through the door into the dark, narrow hallway that lead to many stairs, she raised an eyebrow, probably finding the whole thing too strange and a little too not-Clark-Kent. But she maintained the silence, entering the hallway and climbing the stairs rhythmically. He closed the door behind him and followed her upstairs.

When they got to the top of it, it was still slightly dark, but the light was brighter and brighter each step they took into the new hallway. Finally having reached their destination, both of them stopped.

For a moment, he was speechless all over again like it was the first time. Metropolis' skyline at its best. The sun was up high and the clouds were almost nonexistent. The last time he had been over there, it was night. Stars all over, one of the most beautiful nights he had ever seen. But he was feeling awful, hence the reason he had been there. It was his safe haven.

"Wow." He heard Lois saying and turned his head to her. She was watching the skyline, much like he did that first time, years ago. "It's beautiful." She breathed out the words. He smiled and checked again. The sky was still blue, the sun was still up, and if he looked down he could see the cars and the people and the life that surrounded that city.

"Yeah, it really is." He agreed and they continued to appreciate the view when she broke the silence.

"How did you find this?"

He turned his head to her again, this time she looked back, a questioning expression painting her face. He just watched her for a moment, thinking what kind of conversation his answer would lead to. He felt the usual wave of darkness cover him, but fought it back, it wasn't worth it at the moment. He would answer her, even if it led him to talk about those times. He would have to do it eventually, especially with her.

"Those times I've told you about." He answered, looking into the skyline and getting a little closer to the edge of the building top. Not much though, he still had a little thing with heights. "When I'd go out in the middle of the night. I found this place in one of them."

"You actually drove to Metropolis in the middle of the night several times?"She asked, her tone dripping with disbelief.

"Something like that." He answered, simply. Trying not to give her a chance to ask further questions about how he would go to Metropolis, he continued. "I was just...messed up, Lois." He sighed and briefly glanced at her. She was watching him, urging him to continue. "Not just because of what happened to you, but so much was going on in my life and Iㅡ" He stopped, breathed in. "I had no one."

They were silent again for what seemed the thousandth time that day. He decided to spare her from thinking about something to say and continued:

"My parents were always there, but everybody needs friends. And I didn't have anyone. You were dead as far as I knew, Chloe wasn't speaking to me, Lana and I didn't end on good terms and I don't even need to start on Lex." He consciously let the Chloe thing slip out. He doubted Lois didn't at least suspect that he and her cousin weren't at their best when she was gone, Chloe herself must have talked to her about it without revealing his secrets. He didn't care, and if Lois hadn't asked him anything about it until that point, why would she do it now?

"Well, I guess I can safely say that I understand." She told him with a forced laugh, but a real smile. A week one, but still a smile. He instantly felt bad.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be―"

"Clark." She stopped him with a wider smile. "Relax. I mean it in a good way." She lightly punched his shoulder and he was taken into a spiral of memories, all the other times she had done that when they were younger. He watched as she studied his eyes, observing his reactions to that little action. Her eyes were a dark shade of green instead of brown due to the sunlight and he found himself lostㅡ

"Anyways…" She broke eye contact and he blinked a couple of times. "...what I mean is that I spent 4 years with no one to talk about my situation, just surviving and hoping I'd see the next day. So I know how you feel."

He sighed, allowing himself to think about her for a moment. She had been through hell and she was still Lois. He hadn't been through half of what she did and he felt like it changed him so much.

"My point is that I was messed up too." She told him. "Still am, in fact."

He let out a short self-deprecating laugh.

"Guess that makes two of us." He said and she smiled, her eyes sporting a familiar glint.

"At least we're not alone anymore."

He couldn't have heard something better.

* * *

 **10:00 AM**

"Nice to meet you." He shook hands with Aiden Smith, the Daily Planet reporter.

"So, what do you have for us?" Lois asked as she sat on one of the chairs Aiden had offered them. He sat beside her, on the other one. Aiden sat across from them.

"Not much, unfortunately." He started going over some papers. "All I know is that there's someone who's been taking the blame for a couple of Damian's murders." Aiden said and both he and Lois raised their eyebrows, surprised. "His name is Dorian Williams, he's in prison for about one year. He took the blame for the murder of a woman in a hotel in Metropolis about four years ago…" Clark and Lois briefly glanced at each other. That was the murder Lois had witnessed. "...and two others that were pretty close together last year."

"What do you mean he took the blame?" Lois asked.

"I mean he went to the police and confessed." Aiden told them. "But it doesn't make any sense considering he's going to stay in prison for the rest of his life. If Williams was doing this for money that Damian might have offered him, when does he plan to spend that money? He isn't getting out of prison."

"Do you know anything else?" He asked and Aiden looked back at him.

"Not right now." He answered.

"If you find something, call me, please." Lois said getting up. He followed suit. "Thank you so much for doing this, Aiden."

"You're welcome." He answered, also up now. "Can I ask what you're going to do now?"

Clark also didn't know, but he glanced at Lois and felt like she knew.

"We're going to see if Dorian Williams is up for visitors."


End file.
